Lose Weight With The Glycemic Index Chart

By Kathleen Adams


Thinking of going on yet another diet? If you want to be successful, you'll need to plan your meals and snacks wisely. Lots of things are important if you want to stay healthy, like choosing fresh foods, ones without lots of additives, organic if possible, and high in fiber and protein. Using a glycemic index chart is almost essential, since it will tell you how each food impacts your insulin levels.

Digestion and metabolism are complex processes, but you only need to understand the basics. When a food is digested, glucose passes into the bloodstream. When more glucose is released than can be burned for energy, the pancreas releases its hormone, insulin, to signal that the extra be stored in fat cells. Some of this overload will later be used in energy production, but some may linger in your fat cells forever.

It's important to understand that not all food is digested in the same way. That's why simply counting calories doesn't always result in weight loss. For example, a bagel is primarily white flour and water. This combination digests very quickly, causing a quick rise in blood sugar. In fact, a bagel will trigger a faster rise that a jelly doughnut. The process of digesting flour, sugar, and fruit is more complicated and proceeds more slowly, so less glucose is released at one time. This is why a Snickers candy bar is lower on the glycemic index than popcorn.

A candy bar, even if loaded with peanuts, is not a good choice, of course, Its sugars still promote tooth decay, further an addiction to sweets, and count as empty calories. It's better to just eat peanuts, dry roasted and seasoned with a little sea salt. Peanuts have an extremely low number on the chart.

When planning a weight-loss program, knowing how a particular food impacts your system is helpful. The trick is to select healthy foods with a low rating on the chart. If the major part of your diet comes from low-index foods that are also full of fiber, high in protein, and packed with vitamins and minerals, you will lose those extra pounds and feel good doing it.

A lot of the chart will make sense. Ice cream, candy, dried fruit, sodas, french fries, and white bread are generally known to cause weight gain. These are all ranked at the top of the chart. Some of the things in the 'to be limited' range of above 55 may surprise you, however. Granolas, flavored instant oatmeals and yogurts, orange juice, and rice do not promote weight loss. Fortunately, there are many, many foods that have a count of 54 or lower, so there's no need to feel deprived.

Finding enough foods that you like so you can have a varied meal plan is one benefit of the index. While avoiding mistakes, like eating a plain baked potato or a cup of diced watermelon, you can remember that you like lentils, yams, and hummus. It's also easier to stay on the diet if you can eat bigger portions. It takes a lot of hummus to get you into the danger zone.

The index is a useful tool when you want to achieve an ideal weight or eat better. Knowing how a food impacts your blood sugar keeps you on a heart healthy track and reduces the risk of diabetes to almost nothing. Check it out!




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