Glycaemic Index - Keeping Score
When you eat carbohydrate rich food, your body breaks down the sugars and starches present in food into glucose thus raising your blood sugar level.
Glycaemic index is that number which gives you an idea about how fast your body converts the carbohydrates present in a food into glucose. The glycaemic index (GI) is expressed on a scale of 0 to 100 according to how much they raise blood sugar levels after eating.
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70 or higher = High GI (bad)
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56- 69 = Medium
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55 or less = Low GI (good)
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Lower GI (55-less)
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Whole grain high fiber breads
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Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
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Most fruits
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Peas, legumes and lentils
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Non-starchy vegetables and carrots
Medium GI (56-69)
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Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
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Quick oats
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Brown or basmati rice
High GI (70 or more)
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White bread
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Rice cakes
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Most crisped breads
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Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
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White rice, rice pasta, macaroni
Higher GI number indicates, faster digestion and absorption of food, thus raising the blood sugar level faster than the others.
Foods with low GI are slowly digested and absorbed. The prolonged absorption of carbs over a time helps in achieving lower blood glucose concentration. They provide you a continuous supply of energy from one meal to the next and thus gives you a feeling of fullness for a longer period of time.
ActiFiber Natural Sugar Control has a low Glycaemic Response of just 25.