Glycemic indices

The glycemic index (GI) was introduced for the quantification of the blood sugar raising effect of carbohydrates. To determine the GI, the duration and the extent of the increase in blood sugar after consumption of 50 g of carbohydrate from food are measured. The reference value is the increase in blood sugar after the intake of 50 g of glucose (GI = 100%). The GI of maltose (105) is higher, but the GI of sucrose (65), lactose (46) and fructose (23) is lower. 

The glycemic load (GL) was introduced to take into account the quantity of food consumed. This value refers to the glycemic total load of a portion of food consumed. Results are to be found on the Internet. The consumer, especially diabetics, should favour carbohydrate-containing foods with a low GL value. 

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In the case of complex carbohydrates the glycemic index is a measure of how quickly the carbohydrate is broken down. An example is to compare potato starch and polydextrose. Both are polymers of dextrose but potato starch in the form of mashed potato is rapidly broken down and causes a surge in blood sugar, i.e. it has a high glycemic index. In contrast, polydextrose, which has the dextrose units linked 1 - 6, a link that is rare in nature, is only 25% metabolised and has a very low glycemic index. 

Linseed is one of the few vegetable sources of the omega 3 class of essential fatty acids, hence it is ideally suited for this type of product. The combination of linseed and soya produces a bread that has a low glycemic index, which is another bonus for this sort of product. This reduced glycemic index makes the product more attractive to slimmers and diabetics. 

Reducing diets seem to come and go. At the time of writing the popularity of the Atkins diet seems to be decreasing. The Atkins diet is a low carbohydrate diet that is not conducive to the sales of baked products however, the Atkins diet seems to be being superseded by diets based on the principle of a low glycemic index. This is unlikely to increase the sale of baked goods but is less antipathetic to them. A new diet based on bread has appeared and so the wheel may go full circle. 

Antihyperglycemic activity. Dried seeds, administered orally to six patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus at a dose of 50 g/person, was active. A single dose resulted in a glycemic index of 53 4HV047 extract of the dried fruit,... 

HV052 Miller, ]. B., E. Pang, and L. Bramall. HV063 Rice a high or low glycemic index food Amer J Clin Nutr 1992 56(6) 1034-1036. 

Bjorck. An examination of the possibility of lowering the glycemic index of oat and barley flakes by minimal processing. J Nutr 2000 130(9) 2207-2214. 

Rice A high or low glycemic index food Amer J Clin Nutr 1992 56(6) 1034-1036. 

OSl52 Juliano, B. O., C. M. Perez, S. Komindr, and S. Banphotkasem. Properties of Thai cooked rice and noodles differing in glycemic index in non-insulin-dependent diabetics. Plant Foods Hum... 

PO080 Frati-Munari, A. C., W. Benitez Pinto, C. Raul Ariza Andraca, and M. Casarrubias. Lowering glycemic index of food by acarbose and Plantago psyP Hum mucilage. Arch Med Res 1998 29(2) 137-141. 

Modulation of the Postprandial Surge in Plasma Glucose — Glycemic Index... 

The reduced glycemic index has been attributed to PPT-mediated inhibition of a-amyl-ase, maltase, or a-glucosidase (sucrase)," " but the inhibition of these enzymes is not relevant when volunteers have been given glucose per These observations are... 

Dietary fiber Can slow absorption of refined carbohydrates and lower glycemic index of foods, resulting in reduced effects of diabetes due to lower availability of glucose Preuss (2009)... 

Foster-Powell, K., Holt, S. H. A., Brand-Miller, J. C. (2002). International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values 2002. Amer. J. Clinical Nutrition, 76, 5-56. 

Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of the effect of the consumption of a carbohydrate food on blood glucose levels. The glycemic index, introduced by Jenkins et al. (1981), provides a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the postprandial (after meal) impact on blood sugar levels. It is defined as the incremental area under the blood glucose response curve associated with a 50 g carbohydrate portion of atest food expressed as a percent of the response to the amount of carbohydrate from a standard food taken by the same subject. 

Nutritional Value of Potatoes Digestibility, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Impact... 

Potatoes should not, however, be disadvantaged because of glycemic indices measured in initial studies. More critical analysis is required of the meaning of glycemic index, of the roles that potatoes may play in the diet, and of the validity of generalizing from a limited number of studies to potatoes and potato products as a whole. There is a need to appreciate that many layers of variables determine the relationship between potato consumption and glycemic response in any... 

The glycemic index was, therefore, introduced as an adjunct to available carbohydrate values in diabetes management, to indicate the glycemic potency of available carbohydrate in foods relative to glucose (Jenkins et al., 1981). In recent years GI has developed its own momentum, helped by vigorous promotion, and despite continued discussion about the value it adds to... 

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