The Glycemic Index of Oatmeal

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Feb 072012
 

Oatmeal is still somewhat of a universal food although its heyday is long past. People use it in a large variety of meals, for skin care and even for skin afflictions. It offers soothing relief to self inflicted pains as well such as sunburns, poison ivy or oak afflictions or even just really tired and sore feet! With loads of benefits relating to the glycemic index of oatmeal it seems well worth investigating. So what is it that is so important about the glycemic index of oatmeal anyway?

There are many stories about the important of the glycemic index of oatmeal .

There was a farmer who was having serious digestive problems; they told him he may need to consider surgery. Instead he did some research and discovered Steel Cut Oats and found an entire new level of balance and harmony in his life. He stated that after he began eating those oats, his life just ‘straightened out’ and he was able to lower his blood sugar as well. This farmer became a lifelong consumer of steal cut oats I can tell you!

Oat kernels all look very much like wheat in build. They have their own covering of bran which can protect the germ that sits inside the grain. And because the oat kernel is pliable, the nutritious bran is not wasted. Additionally whole grain oats will have seven different B vitamins, nine minerals, vitamin e and even iron and calcium.

Oatmeal is beginning to sound like a miraculous food and products.

So if you think you are at least as tough as a farmer then why don’t you take a look around and study how you might benefit from learning more about the glycemic index of oatmeal. Anyone who is truly serious about nutrition should be completely aware of the glycemic index which is basically a list of high ranking carbs which is based upon blood sugar levels in the body.

There are many benefits to retaining a healthy GI diet. Diets high on the GI are positively linked ailments and diseases such as heart disease, our nation’s biggest killer. Foods that have a GI under 60 are considered low GI. The steal cut oats glycemic index is around 42 and regular old fashioned oats ranked at about 50 on the glycemic index of oatmeal . Since all of this has many benefits for all age groups then bring home a bag of oats to your family and get them to wise up with you and get healthy!

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Tagged with: , ,

How the Glycemic Index Works

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Jan 282012
 

Are you looking for a very simple and extremely effective way to lose weight or maintain your healthy figure? If so, then you need to learn about the Glycemic Index and how to use it in your daily life.

In short, it is a listing of numbers that tell you how fast your blood sugar level will raise after eating particular foods. The faster it spikes the worse that food is for your weight loss and health efforts.

In the recent past everyone was trying out diets that completely eliminated carbohydrates, but luckily that fad has been replaced with more sensible thinking. Your body needs carbs for energy, but not all carbs will do the job. It’s a matter of selecting your carbs wisely, not cutting them out completely.

The Glycemic Index is the only tool that will help you quickly determine how a food is going to affect your blood sugar. This is not only important for those with diabetes, but it is crucial for anyone looking to lose weight.

Thousands of other people have already used this one tool to lose considerable amounts of weight.

Even better: To hear is that most of them kept those eating patterns and the weight stayed off long term.

For starters, it is important to understand how the Glycemic Index is designed. It only covers carbohydrates, so protein sources will not be listed. The carbohydrate category actually includes a wide variety of foods from vegetables, fruits, and whole grain pasta, bread, and rice to refined white bread, pasta, bread, and all types of sugary sweets that are made from any variety of flour.

There are currently just under 2,500 foods listed in the index.

Each food listed in the Glycemic Index is given a value.

The higher the value, the faster that food will raise your blood sugar level. The lower the value, the slower your blood sugar level will be raised.

So, as a guide, it’s best to eat more of the foods with a lower GI rating, and eat less of, or avoid, as much as possible, those foods with a higher Glycemic Index rating.

It is quite mind blowing for most people to realize how much of what they eat on a daily basis is a carbohydrate. Since this one category of food makes up the bulk of most people’s diet, it is obvious why cutting it out completely is so difficult to stick with long term.

While carbohydrates are often criticized because they have sugar content, this sugar is actually not the problem. All carbs have some natural sugars, but not all of them are broken down the same by your body.

Whole grain sources of carbs and vegetables, fruits, and beans are broken down slowly in your system. The fiber must be separated from the natural sugars, which are then slowly released into your blood stream. The result is a slow, steady supply of energy that helps your body function properly.

Refined carbs such as white bread, pasta, rice, and sweets like cupcakes and donuts are processed quite differently. During processing they are stripped of their natural fiber, so your body doesn’t have to do that work. The problem is the sugar goes quickly into your blood stream, creating a huge surge in energy. But, it quickly goes away and leaves you with a drop in energy and a big craving for more food.

If you are trying to lose weight, this spike and drop in blood sugar is going to work against you. Not only is this unhealthy for your body, but it can lead to brutal cravings for more refined carbs which will cause weight gain.

If you choose wisely and eat mainly from lower Glycemic Index foods, you will maintain an even, consistent blood sugar level and avoid those cravings. Your body will also receive more of the nutrients it needs from the natural fiber.

 Posted by at 7:16 am  Tagged with: , ,

The Glycemic Index Food Chart

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Jan 222012
 

To be able to fully understand and benefit from the glycemic index food chart

, you may need to conduct a little research first. Your life may start to change for the better once you fully understand the values indicated in it. The glycemic index food chart may seem to be a little annoying, but you should know that this is an important concept when it comes to choosing the right foods to eat and to maintain a healthy body and a normal weight.

The numbers on the glycemic index food chart

ranges from 0 to 100, and every food rated on it has its own value.

Foods listed higher than 70 has a high GI ranking, which means these foods are quickly digested and converted into glucose. When you have too much glucose in your body, it will then take action and try to clear those excess glucose out which will then cause you to feel hungry again. With very little glucose, you will then be compelled to consume foods with higher glycemic and so on. For you to be able to have a good health, you should find a way to break this cycle.

On the other hand, low glycemic foods are digested slowly which means your blood sugar will not rise quickly. As mentioned above, foods above 70 are high. Foods that range from 55 to 70 are moderate and anything below 50 is low. For this, you may want to focus on the foods which are low on the glycemic index food chart.

What you must remember is that, foods that have high glycemic value should not be totally eliminated.

You can still eat these foods as long as it is combined with something that has proteins and fats that can help slow down the process. For example, bagel may have a very high value on the glycemic index food chart, but you can combine it with peanut butter, cream cheese or eggs to slow down its conversion into glucose.

The glycemic index food chart

concept has lots of benefits. One is that if you are able to find ways to consume foods with lower index score, then you are on your way to healthy eating. Aside from that, it will make you feel full longer after each meal and so you may not need to snack after eating breakfast or lunch since you are already feeling satisfied. For both diabetics and health-conscious individuals, this type of diet can make you feel more satisfied, less apt to craving for unhealthy foods and can make you healthier.

 Posted by at 9:18 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

What is the Glycemic Index?

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Jan 162012
 

The glycemic index, or GI, was developed between 1980 and 1982 by Dr. David J. Jenkins and his associates. They developed it when they were attempting to discern what would be the best foods people who have diabetes should eat.

The glycemic index measures the effect of carbohydrates on the blood sugar level.

If a carbohydrate quickly breaks down during digestion and rapidly releases glucose into the bloodstream it will be assigned a high glycemic index. If a carbohydrate slowly breaks down and gradually releases glucose into the bloodstream it will have a low GI.

Foods that have a low glycemic index usually are digested at a slower rate. They often, but not always, have lower insulin demands on the body.

Currently glucose is used as a reference food and is assigned a GI value of 100. White bread could be used as a reference food, as well.

If white bread were assigned a value of 100 then glucose would have a value of 140.

What are Low G I Foods?

Low GI foods release glucose more steadily and slowly. Their GI range is 55 or less. Most vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, eggs, meat, milk, fructose, and nuts are low GI foods.

What are Medium G I Foods?

Medium GI foods have a GI that falls into the 55 – 69 range. Sweet potatoes, whole wheat products, sucrose, and basmati rice fall within this range.

What are High G I Foods?

High GI foods have a GI of 70 or more. These include white bread, potatoes, most white rice, watermelon, glucose, extruded breakfast cereals, and corn flakes.

If you add vinegar to food you will lower its GI. Also, if there are soluble dietary fibers or fats present in a food they can slow down the gastric emptying rate. When that happens the GI becomes lower.

GI and Weight Control

Recent research with animals indicates that diets that are high in GI carbohydrates will increase an animal’s risk of becoming obese.

One such study involved male rats. They were divided into low- and high-GI groups and subsequently were observed over a four and a half month period.

Over those 18 weeks the rats on the high GI diet ended up with 8% less lean body mass and 71% more fat than the low GI group.

In addition, post meal insulin levels, glycemia, and triglycerides were significantly higher in the high GI group.

How Can You Use the GI?

If half of your calories come from carbohydrates, you can determine which carbs you should eat and thus you can use the GI to enable you to still have lower and more stable insulin and glucose levels.

Keep in mind, though, that the amount of carbohydrates you eat have a greater impact on blood sugar levels than the GI itself. If you want to lose weight then consuming less calories and fewer carbohydrates could benefit your blood sugar level even more.

You will be able to have the most stable blood sugar level if you calculate your carbohydrate intake and eat carbohydrates with a low glycemic index.

 Posted by at 5:18 am  Tagged with: ,

Using the Bread Glycemic Index

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Jan 102012
 

Because we aspire to become healthy and fit, we certainly have to take in healthy and balanced food items; and understanding the bread glycemic index listings could possibly help to that. The index could assist you given that it offers useful facts concerning the food items which you consume along with the impacts these food types contain and the actual activity of the insulin level. The idea assists you to become well-informed on how exactly the food stuff you take in, shows results within the body in order that you are able to better organize the state of your well being.

It is necessary to be aware of the importance of the food items we regularly take in such as breads. Although an individual cannot survive with bread alone, but sometimes we make use of this particularly for an instant meal.

Why don’t we take a look at exactly where bread is in the index, in order that we could easily generate our own options correctly using the bread glycemic index .

A lot of bread certainly differ from their respective rankings. They could range from a poor level of eighteen such as the white bread prepared using acarbose right from South America; to an elevated ranking of 95 such as baguette formed from France.

Perhaps it will make you become puzzled, just how would you recognize items in the bread glycemic index if it is high or low in rank when you buy it?

The easiest method to figure out that is by its ingredients. Go through the content label about the breads, the very first component stated is definitely the most significant formula belonging to the bread.

Breads shaped by using whole wheat products or whole grains could have a lesser rank of bread glycemic index level compared to those made out of enhanced flour. Other considerations that will create any difference are components which include honey along with other flour and sweets. At the same time, whole grains, whole wheat flour, pumpernickel and rolled oats may decrease its glycemic index level.

Therefore the next occasion for which you select the breads you will definitely going to consider, simply pay attention to these items that pinpoint the bread glycemic index simply because information is the vital thing to using improved management of your well being. And also, in the event you select the one in the greater rank, ensure that you incorporate it along with a necessary protein to aid counterbalance of the results.

 Posted by at 9:16 am  Tagged with: , , ,
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