More recently, there was an opinion that all carbohydrate-containing foods have the same effect on increasing the level of glucose in our body. It wasn't until the end of the twentieth century that David Jenkins, a Canadian scientist, discovered that this was not entirely true. It took more than 15 years for doctors to conduct enough research to prove that foods containing carbohydrates have different effects on glucose levels. For example, ice cream does not raise blood sugar as much as plain ice cream. white bread... Thus, the concept of "division of carbohydrate-containing foods according to the glycemic index" has entered the composition of dietetics.

Percentage calculations of carbohydrates

These calculations show the difference in blood sugar concentration compared to 50 grams of pure glucose. The indicator for pure sugar is 100, and the level of a product is calculated from 0 to 100 percent. Some types of food can exceed this figure, depending on how quickly they are absorbed. The rate of assimilation is influenced by the content of the product, as well as the method of its preparation. To demonstrate in an accessible way glycemic index carbohydrates, a table with the percentage of a particular product was invented by nutritionists.

What to choose - high or low GI values

Weight watchers are very familiar with this table. The fact is that by receiving foods containing carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, we rapidly increase the level of sugar in the body, which sometimes it simply cannot cope with. Excess glucose not processed by the body is sent to the "fat reserve", in other words, deposited on the sides and abdomen. With a sufficiently sharp release of a large amount of glucose into the blood, insulin begins to work actively, due to which, within a short time interval, the sugar level drops and hunger returns again. Therefore, those wishing to lose weight should mainly choose foods containing carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, which have the quality of a sufficiently long assimilation, which will remove the feeling of hunger for a long time. In addition, when processing foods with slow carbohydrates, the body uses a certain amount of fat reserves.

Low GI Carbohydrates

According to the table, a score of less than 50% indicates that foods contain low-index carbohydrates. They help to regulate the required level of sugar in our body, lose weight and improve the digestion process. As a rule, these are products with high content fiber, which, in addition to having the ability to saturate the body for a long time, is very beneficial to health. Despite the fact that almost all known types of sugars have high rates glycemic index, up to 70% and above, the exception is fructose, its index is 20. In addition, it can be called the only type of sugar that does not harm, but, on the contrary, benefits the body.

Legumes

Cereals and legumes are also low glycemic carbohydrate foods. Their high fiber content ensures a feeling of fullness for a long time. They also rid the body of toxins and toxins, regulate the intestines, strengthen immune system... Studies have shown that regular consumption of grains and legumes in sufficient quantities (about 2-3 tablespoons per day) reduces the risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular diseases, they help to preserve memory for a long time, and help slow down the main aging processes. Well, almost everyone knows about the benefits of legumes as worthy substitutes for meat. No plant-based product contains as much protein as beans, peas, lentils and soybeans.

Fermented milk and milk products

Also, foods with a low GI, but a high content of useful microelements include dairy and fermented milk foods. It perfectly strengthens the immune system, is an excellent protection against colds and allergic diseases, regulates bowel function. Lactose, found in large quantities in fermented milk products, helps cleanse the digestive system of harmful bacteria and putrefactive compounds. But the most useful thing in dairy and fermented milk products is living bacteria. Some of them, for example, acidophilus bacillus, are a constant worker of our intestines, help to improve digestion and promote the elimination of toxins from the body.

This category also includes: most vegetables, dark chocolate, brown bread, mushrooms, many berries and fruits.

It should be noted that the table shows only foods containing carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, which is why it does not include: seafood, cheese, meat, game and many others, which are also necessary for a healthy body and do not harm the figure, but the basis of these products is protein.

Correct Eating Low GI Carbohydrates

Initially, when the table was invented and the division of carbohydrates into low and high percentages, many nutritionists came to the conclusion that it is permissible to use foods containing carbohydrates with a low glycemic index in any quantity and in any form. But further research determined the fallacy of this conclusion. Eating only foods with a low GI, you will not be able to improve your health and lose weight. In order to correctly use carbohydrates in your daily diet, you should also take into account the method of their preparation. Therefore, most tables indicate foods containing carbohydrates and the glycemic index at certain heat treatment.

Food processing changes the GI of the product

It is clear that frying the same cauliflower will radically change the GI of the product and even change its composition, adding harmful carcinogens and fats to the product. And in this case, the product will simply be deprived of useful vitamins. Eat foods containing carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, preferably in the form in which they are indicated in the table. To correctly divide them into portions, you should adhere to the fractional nutrition system, they should be divided into several small portions daily.

However, you should not eat only carbohydrate-containing foods, as the body will not receive all the necessary trace elements and will constantly remind you of this with a feeling of hunger. Therefore, carefully monitor that the diet also contains proteins, vegetable fats and fiber, this is the only way you will be able to achieve the most favorable result for your figure and health in general.

Medium to high GI foods

It is a mistake to think that regular consumption of only low GI foods will lead to complete health and an ideal figure. The division of carbohydrate foods helps you understand which foods to focus on and which ones to cut in your diet. But foods containing carbohydrates with an average glycemic index, for example, rice, pasta, boiled potatoes, bananas (green or medium ripeness), should be consumed regularly. Also, you should not avoid foods with high percentages of carbohydrates. Some of the foods on this list contain many essential vitamins, so they should be included in your diet regularly as well. The most useful foods with high GI carbohydrates: honey, glucose, watermelon, raisins, nuts. With a competent approach to the inclusion of all the necessary carbohydrates in the diet, you will be able to find the desired harmony without causing any harm to your health.

You can often observe a situation when people are on a diet for a long time and stubbornly, eat seemingly the right foods, limit themselves to sweet and starchy foods - and still do not lose weight, and sometimes even get better! The answer to this paradox is quite simple: in addition to counting the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in foods, you also need to pay attention to their glycemic index (GI).

Indeed, without taking into account this indicator, no diet for weight loss will be effective! Experienced nutritionists recommend that their patients eat only foods with a low glycemic index for maximum rapid weight loss effects. Whereas in order to gain weight, the diet consists mainly of foods with a high GI.

The understanding of what the glycemic index is has appeared relatively recently. For the first time, this concept was talked about about 30 years ago, when there was a boom in various diets in society, and doctors of sciences competed in the speed of inventing new wonderful methods of losing weight. It was obvious to everyone that any diet should be based on low-calorie foods.

But over time, it was noticed that people who consumed about the same number of calories per day lost weight at completely different rates. Some lost weight quickly enough, while the performance of others, on the contrary, remained at a stable level. This was the impetus for a more detailed study of the foods that we eat.

As a result of long-term studies, it was revealed that for a person it is important not only energy value food, but also the rate of assimilation, or "processing", of this energy by the body. The glycemic index just characterizes the rate at which carbohydrates are broken down in our body. The rate of assimilation of pure glucose was taken as the standard.

The higher the GI of a product, the faster carbohydrates are broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream. The surprising fact for many people is that sometimes the glycemic index may not be related to the calorie content of the product. For example, watermelon, in 100 grams of which there are only 25 kilocalories, has a glycemic index of 75! And this is one of the highest rates.

The glycemic index of foods and its effect on dietary restrictions

It turned out that in addition to people who want to lose weight, the GI is critically important for diabetics! After all, the level of sugar in a person's blood rises as quickly as the rate of absorption of carbohydrates from foods is high.

Which, in turn, have healthy people causes a sharp jump in insulin levels, which "neutralizes" excess sugar. In diabetics, due to permanent insulin deficiency, a severe crisis can occur.

If you don't suffer diabetes mellitus, but just really want to lose weight, then you need to know that elevated level insulin in the blood interferes with this process in every possible way. After all, the main function of this hormone is to neutralize excess sugar.

This is done by evenly distributing the products of the breakdown of carbohydrates in various organs and tissues. There, excess glucose is immediately converted into fatty deposits, increasing our body in volume.

Carbohydrates in the diet of athletes

It has also been observed that insulin interferes with the breakdown and burning of fat. Therefore, if you work hard in the gym, and at this time your "diet" will consist of an unreasonably large amount of foods containing "fast carbohydrates", then you will hardly be able to achieve a good weight loss effect.

But at the same time, any athlete knows that carbohydrates should be consumed before training. And this is the key to successful weight loss: foods containing "fast carbohydrates" (which automatically means their high glycemic index) help to increase endurance during physical activity... And if consumed immediately before exercise, carbohydrates are burned during muscle work. Therefore, there is no need to worry about them turning into fat.

Any diet of people actively involved in sports is made taking into account the amount and time of intake of "fast carbohydrates".

"Dangerous" foods with high GI

As noted, the glycemic index and the absolute amount of carbohydrates in a meal are often not related in any way. Therefore, the calorie table of foods can be very different from the one in which they are grouped by GI level.

Foods containing "slow" carbohydrates are those with a GI of 49 or less, 50-70 are average GI values, and a glycemic index of 70 is considered very high. No good weight loss diet should contain high GI foods.

"Dangerous" products, the use of which must be limited, are the following:

1. Beer: GI \u003d 110.
2. Soft pastries and white bread - 100.
3. Lean potato dishes - 95.
4. White rice - 75-90.
5. Boiled or stewed carrots - 85.
6. Muesli with dried fruits and nuts - 80.
7. Pumpkin, watermelon - 75.
8. Milk chocolate, various chocolate bars, sweet sparkling water - 72.
9. Sugar, semolina, potato chips - 70.

Foods such as pineapple, bananas, raisins, have a GI index above average (from 65). oatmeal, jams, fresh juices, boiled beets, whole wheat bread, canned vegetables.

These data are surprising, to put it mildly. Since it was hardly possible to guess, for example, that sugar from boiled carrots is absorbed by the body faster than from "Snickers". Another thing is that its content in 100 grams of this vegetable is much lower than in a similar amount of chocolate. But in any case, any diet should take into account these data and allow the use of "high glycemic" foods in very limited quantities.

Low GI foods

The table below contains a list of the safest foods for both diabetics and those looking to lose weight. Their glycemic index is very low, and therefore these "slow carbohydrates" hardly convert to body fat.

It should not surprise you that in this list there are no meat and fish products that are considered dietary in boiled form. The fact is that the sugar content, and, accordingly, carbohydrates, in them is very low, therefore the GI, respectively, is equal to 0. In particular, therefore, almost any diet for weight loss or for people with diabetes includes meat and fish in a certain amount.

Using GIs in Diet Formulation

After the discovery of the glycemic index, nutritionists quickly began adjusting their dietary recommendations for different categories of people. First of all, the list of allowed products for people with diabetes was completely revised, for them there were many more “prohibited” products.

Over time, many of the principles of making menus for diabetics have been used when adjusting the diet for those who wanted to lose weight. Thus, any diet for weight loss now excludes the use of "fast carbohydrates".

Here are some of the most popular diets based on the calculation of the glycemic index, consider their advantages and disadvantages.

Diet based on scoring

The essence of such a power supply scheme is quite simple. 100 grams of each food is assigned 1, 2 or 3 points, depending on its glycemic index. Foods with a low GI are 1 point on the scale of this diet, with an average - 2, with a high, respectively 3. At each meal, you need to count the number of points in each food eaten and add them up. As a result, you should gain no more than 15 points per day.

On the one hand, this diet is extremely simple, because in it, in fact, the use of any product is not prohibited. And this can be a plus for people who find it difficult to limit themselves to their favorite food. But on the other hand, it is not easy to adhere to it, since multicomponent and compound dishes are often impossible to absolutely accurately classify according to this scheme and assign them an appropriate number of points without the help of a nutritionist.

Meals according to the Ludwig scheme

The Ludwig Diet is another semi-scientific weight loss method. Its founder is David Ludwig, M.D., who widely promoted "non-violent" methods of losing weight and was opposed to severe restriction on food.

Many have managed to achieve good results using this rule. But at the same time, Ludwig's nutritional principles have been widely criticized by nutritionists.

Their main arguments: the GI of a product can vary greatly depending on the way it is prepared and on the metabolic rate of a person, the same product can have a different GI for different people.

Combined diet

This diet is considered the most balanced, since it takes into account not only the glycemic index of the product, but also its calorie content, compatibility with other foods, the presence of a sufficient amount of proteins, important micro and macro elements, carbohydrates and fats.

The essence of such a diet is to consume foods with a GI of 50 or less. At the same time, the caloric content of the daily diet is calculated individually, depending on age, gender and physical activity. For example, for women 30-35 years old with a moderately active lifestyle who visit the gym several times a week, the total number of calories per day should not exceed 2000-2200. In this case, the effect of weight loss will be noticeable quickly enough.

Also, with this diet, much attention is paid to the quantitative ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the diet. Their use is considered correct in a ratio of 1: 1: 4.

The combination diet is recognized as the most effective dietitian and the least controversial. Its only drawback is its relative complexity, since a large number of factors must be taken into account at the same time.

But remember that sometimes for better results, for effective weight loss or gaining weight, for the prevention of many diseases, you do not need to strictly adhere to any diets. Often it is enough to independently compose a daily diet, based on your well-being, on the knowledge of the basic principles of dietetics, the calorie content of foods and their glycemic index. And of course, eat the most healthy, chemically unprocessed and "live" food.