I think the important thing (with ANY food, not just almonds) to to test and find out what that food is doing to YOUR blood glucose.
Doesn't matter whether an almond has a GI of 2 or 92, if a 'portion' of it spikes you, you need to avoid it, and it if doesn't spike you, then you can eat it.
Testing is how I found out that grains are terrible for my blood glucose, but equivalent carb amounts of potato, generate much lower numbers. And (oddly) I am much better on sugar (yes, the real white stuff that comes from sugarcane) than on starchy root or cereal anything.
We are all different, and relying on numbers on an internet page just tells us a fraction of the story.
Yes, the tested individual food GI is not the whole story, but an essential part, and starting point. Much in the same way as
velocity (as with GI) is a necessary component to calculating
momentum or
impact in physics, but
mass (as with carbs) also must be considered, as well as r
esistance/friction/drag (as with buffering and weighted average GI). Once must consider all of the above to get predictability.
Context of other foods/condiments typically eaten along with these foods makes a difference - and can make a huge difference if significantly proportionate. There are two effects from other foods:
weighted average GI (foods with some carbs and lower GI) and
buffering (from non-carby fats, protein, and any isolated fiber). Qty of these mitigate when in combo with the carby items (potato, grains, sugars, starches, etc) and will affect (lower) the resulting
meal-GI. This is predictable. Not accounting for the interactions with other foods is what makes them
seem "unpredictable".
1. Almonds are not going to "spike" anyone, so long as you dont eat a large amount and account for the slow carbs (and they're are not candied or covered in chocolate, etc). If a large amount is eaten, it would result in more of a "slow tsunami" as opposed to a fast "spike".
2. It is not necessary to "trial and error" grains, as most have high GI in the 70's or more, and those with mid-GI range, tend to still have high carbs, with a few more well-known exceptions. This can be looked up in databases. Look up the carbs
and GI, and they can be managed and predicted. If you research, you may find low-carb but high-GI items (like pumpkin and other squash, rutabaga, etc), as well as high-carb low-GI items (like coconut palm sugar). These can often be managed down with buffering and wt-avg. Those to really be wary of are high-carb-high-GI items (wheat flour, starches, etc).
3. You do better with cane sugar as opposed to starches because, although sugar is pure carb, cane sugar has a GI of 65. If you are counting your carbs, this is better than carb-for-carb starches, which most pure starches have GI of 85, and grains tend to be high in starches.
4. Potatoes can have high GI when baked, but slightly lower when peeled and boiled (starch comes out in the water). Adding fatty condiments such as sour cream, butter, cheese, mayo, etc all can buffer potatoes' GI down. In the case of hashbrowns, which are squeezed of their "potato juice" (which carries starch along and out with it) have lower GI due to the starch removal as well as the significant amount of oil used, which buffers.