Low Glycemic Foods: How do they Help You Lose Weight?

Have you heard about the Glycemic Index and how it can be used to help you eat a healthy diet? Are you wondering exactly what it is and how it works? It is really quite simple, and this article will fill you in on how the Glycemic Index works and how you can make it work for you.

The Glycemic Index (GI) is simply a way of measuring the effect which different foods have on your body's blood sugar levels. Glucose, which is the simplest of simple carbohydrates, is given a glycemic rating of 100. That makes it the highest food on the High Glycemic Index list includes.

High Glycemic Index foods cause rapid and sharp spike in blood sugar levels. Low Glycemic Index foods, on the other hand, increase the body sugar levels much more slowly.

See, the reason why low glycemic foods and diet have been so popular and studied more and more, is because of its many health benefits. The benefits of a low GI diet include:

Weight loss, specifically, fat loss

Reduced isk of type 2 diabetes

Reduced cholesterol levels

Improved mental performance and concentration levels

Improved mood and stability

Improved energy levels (including after meals)

Less oxidative stress, which means better aging (anti aging)

While each individual's blood sugar level response to different foods will depend on a variety of factors, including their age, how active they are, their insulin levels before they eat, the amount of fiber in the food, and the way in which the food was cooked, everyone who eats a food with a high G.I. number can expect their blood levels to rise immediately.

Foods with low G.I. numbers, however, will release glucose from the foods into the bloodstream gradually. This results in a lower level of insulin produced, which is great for fat loss, because less insulin means less fat storage. See, with a high GI food, your sugar levels and insulin levels shoot up, and insulin is the hormone that makes you store fat, making it difficult to lose fat.

Refined carbohydrates score higher on the Glycemic Index and unprocessed ones; white bread will get a much higher G.I. number whole-grain bread. Processed breakfast cereals will score much higher than unprocessed cereals with wheat bran or whole oats, because on refined grains still contain fibre. Foods with white flour and refined sugar have the highest G.I. numbers.

Nutritional experts now agree that applying glycemic index numbers to your diet is a great way to lose weight. Eating a diet based predominantly on low glycemic foods will keep your blood surely levels even over a longer period of time, as the energy from the food is slowly made available to your system. You will feel less inclined to eat, because you will not be experiencing sudden blood sugar drops.

You can also use your knowledge of the Glycemic Index to manage your exercise program. By eating high G.I. foods after a strenuous workout, you will raise your blood sugar quickly, enabling you to recover from the workout's effects. That is a great strategy to use if you workout intensely.

If, however, you plan a less strenuous but longer workout, then you should use low Glycemic Index foods. That is because they will release their sugar slowly into your bloodstream, giving you an extended source of energy over a long period of activity.

But either way knowing how to correctly use the Glycemic Index will help you stick with your exercise program. And as you probably already know, no diet in the world will help you keep weight off in the long term unless you exercise regularly.

So go for it and make sure that your foods are low in the glycemic index and see the results for yourself when it comes to weight loss and feeling a whole lot better!

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