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What is the Glycemic Index and Can It Help me Lose Weight?

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Name of Resource
What is the Glycemic Index and Can It Help me Lose Weight?
Year Created
2009
Description
The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how much a carbohydrate-containing food is likely to raise a person’s blood sugar.

 Carbohydrate foods can be divided into high, medium, and low GI foods. A food with a high GI will raise your blood sugar more than a food with a low GI, with medium GI foods falling somewhere in-between. Studies have found that a low GI diet has many health benefits, including:

  • lowering risk of type 2 diabetes
  • control of blood sugar
  • control of blood cholesterol.

Foods that have a high GI include sugar, jams, jellies, and other sweets along with several other foods from the grain products food group. These include foods made with white flour such as white bread, bagels, crackers, pancakes, waffles, and many processed breakfast cereals. Instant rice, short-grain white rice, French fries, and baking potatoes (russet) also have a high GI.

Low GI foods include:

  • most fruits and vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, apples, oranges, plums and berries
  • milk products
  • legumes such as chickpeas, beans and lentils
  • some high-fibre breads like heavy mixed grains or stone-ground whole wheat
  • some high-fibre cereals like All-Branä, Bran Budsä and old-fashioned oatmeal
  • sweet potatoes
  • pasta.

Can the glycemic index help me lose weight?

There is good evidence to support the use of glycemic index in weight management. Studies show that low GI diets can help overweight or obese adults lose more weight than a high GI diet. Low GI diets can also help reduce blood fats. More studies are needed to see if weight lost on a low GI diet can be kept off over the long term.

Foods that are high in protein (eg meat, fish, poultry, cheese) and fat (eg butter, oil, margarine) will not affect your blood sugar much, but they still contain calories, so eating too much of these foods can also affect your weight.

Where can I get more information about glycemic index?

The Glycemic Index Factsheet by the Canadian Diabetes Association    www.diabetes.ca/files/Diabetes_GL_FINAL2_CPG03.pdf

The Glucose Revolution: by Brand-Miller, Wolever, Colaguiri and Foster-Powell. A well-written and reliable book on GI.

A registered dietitian can help you learn more about a low glycemic index diet. You can find a dietitian in your area at  www.dietitians.ca/find

 

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