Dieting? Watch Your "G"

By Kia Edwards

People who know me know that the nicest reaction I can muster with most fad diets is an eye roll.  With New Year diets still going strong, it’s good to know a bit about the diets that some people recommend.  The Glycemic Index Diet is a popular diet that’s been going around for some time. Originally designed for individuals with diabetes, this diet has branched out to the general population in the form of Nutrisystem, the Zone diet and Sugar Busters.  However, it begs the question: is it a diet worth following?  Let’s check it out.

The Glycemic Index is a numerical scale used to show how quickly and how high a certain food will cause an increase in your blood sugar.  The value is based on glucose, which is given a value of 100.  The thought process is a low to moderate glycemic food item will keep your blood sugar at a more controlled level while a food item that is considered high glycemic will cause an undesirable spike in your blood sugar.  This is a useful concept for diabetics and non-diabetics alike.  Keeping your blood sugar controlled is good for diabetics for obvious reasons.  For non-diabetics, keeping your blood sugar on an even keel can fight the sugar high-sugar crash cycle. 

Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty. How useful is it?  The research is fairly mixed, but it doesn’t say that following the glycemic index is a bad thing.  Some studies show that people lost weight while other studies showed no lasting change in weight loss.   I don’t mind the glycemic index because it encourages you to eat foods such as vegetables, legumes, some fruits, yogurts and oats.  It also discourages eating food that is highly processed since these items tend to be high glycemic (potato chips, french fries, pancake syrup, white bread, you get the idea).  That’s great- something that does the work for me, but most people already know this unless they live under a rock or somewhere similar.

An issue that I do have with the glycemic index is that the values are assigned to individual foods.  This is a problem because we rarely eat one kind of food during a meal, which distorts the glycemic effect.  For instance, if you eat a potato (GI value ranges from 82-100 depending on how you cook it), but you eat spinach or another low glycemic food with it, the glycemic effect becomes difficult to predict.  The solution is to eat foods that are low on the glycemic index, but I won’t knock you if you add in a sweet treat on the odd occasion. 

Overall, the Glycemic Index is a useful little tool if you’re trying to avoid counting calories, go low-carb, or looking for a way to change your eating habits (I also hate the word “diet”- it’s a lifestyle change).  It’s not telling you anything you don’t already know, but it’s good to have reinforcement.  Here’s a list of foods and their glycemic index.  Happy eating!       

Food	Glycemic Index
Low Glycemic
Hummus	6
Peanuts	15
Grapefruit	25
Lentils	25
Fettuccini	27
Mixed Grain Bread	28
Skim Milk	32
Sweetened Yogurt	33
Apple	38
White Spaghetti	41
Sweet Potato	44
Carrots	49
Oatmeal	49
Banana	54
Mid-Glycemic
Short Grain White Rice	55
Whole Wheat Pita	57
Basmati Rice	58
Bran Muffin	60
Fresh Corn	60
Corn Chips	63
Shortbread Cookie	64
Beets	64
Couscous	65
Cantaloupe	65
Pancakes	67
High Glycemic
Graham Crackers	74
French Fries	76
Doughnuts	76
Pancake Syrup	81
Pretzels	81
Rice Cakes	82
Corn Flakes	83
Baked Potato	85
Wild Rice	87

Kia Edwards is a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist who lives in New York City. She studied French and Economics at Colgate University, spent 15 years as a high-level competitive gymnast and 6 years as a gymnastics coach.  Her business, La Fortesse At Home Fitness Training, helps clients get healthy with simple at home exercises and nutrition counseling. www.LaFortesse.com