GI verses GL and Why Should I Care?

My final transfer from my old blog - Good Bye Temple Tenant Improvement - I appreciated the things that you taught me :)

I have been studying the GI (Glycemic Index) and the GL (Glycemic Load). Trying to find out what they are and how they effect me.

Originally there was the GI and everyone started waving the flag that this was the new end all be all for dietary measuring. How many commercials did you see on TV about this? Tons. Basically the GI is how high your blood sugar goes up after eating 50 grams of available Carbs in any one item then that is compared to the same measurement of eating 50 grams of sugar. The number they come up with is the GI. That's fine but the amount of stuff you have to eat to get that 50 grams made some people cry foul. I mean to get 50 grams of carbs from carrots you would have to eat 1.5 pound and 50 grams of watermelon requires you to consume 6 cups. Most of us just don't eat like that so the GL was created to give you more of a balance in determining how to eat. The GL measures the actual amount of available carbs in a normal serving. If you take the two numbers together then you get a better idea of what is good and what is bad for you.

Numbers under 55 for the GI are the best, 56 to 69 are medium and 70 and up are high. With the GL the number you are looking for is under 10, then 11 to 19 is medium and over 20 is high. There is some really good info on this on the web site www.mendosa.com(just type in GI in the search engine and go to the post on 'lists'). Again there are tons of charts out there giving you the GI and GL of items.

So why do I care about the GI or GL in my diet. Well I am a diabetic and my blood sugar level is a constant source of aggravation to me and knowing the GI and GL just give me one more tool to keep my blood sugar under control. I read too that insulin can effect cancer growth (which was all new to me).

The more I learn the more I realize that everything in my body seems to be intertwined with everything else. I know, I know, just eat right and exercise and it will all fall into place. That's the plan.

Enjoy!