Why Measure Glycemic Response When Glycemic Index is Good Enough?

Plan the diet around foods having low/medium glycemic index

​Diabetes control thrives mainly on restricting dietary intake, exercising regularly, and getting into an active lifestyle. Every food consumed contains different nutrients and belongs to some definite food group. We must make wise food choices to stay healthy and keep diabetes under control. One of the foremost recommendations for this include minimizing the intake of carbohydrate-rich foods while including more of vegetables and legumes that have minimal carb content.
 
Glycemic Index (GI)
 
Glycemic index is a value that’s present only in foods having carbohydrates. For instance, foods such as meat, oils, and fats don’t have a GI value but can still affect the blood glucose levels in some other way.
 
Glycemic Index is nothing but the rate at which different foods increase the blood glucose levels in the body. GI numbers rank various carbohydrate-containing foods depending on the speed at which our sugar levels increase and decrease. Foods are segregated as low, medium, and high GI foods. High GI foods are those which are absorbed and digested rapidly while low GI foods take ample time to be absorbed and digested. High GI foods are recommended for consumption after a session of intense exercise training only.
 
A numerical score between 1 and 100 is assigned to foods based on their ability to affect glucose levels with pure glucose given a score of 100. Highly processed foods generally have high GI numbers while foods with abundant fibre content take up lower GI scores.
 
Connecting the Dots Between GI and Diabetes
 
People with diabetes are always asked to stick to a rigid diet plan avoiding sugary items, many fruits in particular, and processed foods. Also, medical physicians, dietitians, and nutritionists recommend diabetics to choose foods with low GI to have good control over blood sugar levels. It might not only help mitigate spike in sugar levels in the body but can also help in weight loss, yet another way in which diabetes can be managed.
 
Various factors such as processing (removing the bran and germ increases GI), physical form, ripeness of produce, fibre content, and fat content of different foods play a prominent role in determining the GI value.
 
The American Diabetes Association has tabulated the GI values of various foods under the name “International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values.” For instance, foods such as barley, quinoa, pasta, oatmeal, most veggies, walnuts, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, apples, and skim meal have low GI. Foods such as baked potatoes, french fries, candies, white-flour pasta, white basmati rice, sugary beverages, and white bread have high GI.
 
In fact, the ADA in the year 2011 published “Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes” where it states that:
 
“Monitoring carbohydrate intake, whether by carbohydrate counting, exchanges, or experience-based estimation, remains a key strategy in achieving glycemic control. For individuals with diabetes, the use of the glycemic index and glycemic load may provide a modest additional benefit for glycemic control over that observed when total carbohydrate is considered alone.”
 
Glycemic Response
 
Glycemic response to any food is the effect of the food on blood sugar levels after consuming it. Consuming any food results in spike in blood glucose and insulin levels soon after eating but the levels drop to fasting levels in course of time. The spike difference is vastly seen in case of foods rich in carbohydrates. The glycemic response after a meal depends on the type of food consumed with the carbohydrates. For instance, combining a low GI food with a high GI food alters the blood sugar levels in a controlled way.
 
To measure the glycemic response after consuming different foods, it is necessary to measure the blood sugar levels every time. The underlying question is whether or not pricking the skin for blood or even CGM is necessary. The answer is a strict no.
 
Firstly, it is only carbs that have a GI value and when a low-carb diet is recommended for individuals with diabetes, there is not the slightest need to measure and monitor glycemic response on a day-in-day-out basis. Secondly, we have standard GI values for different foods and it is good enough to avoid eating high GI foods to maintain blood sugar levels. Obviously high GI foods would generate an undesirable glycemic response which doesn’t seem right. Thirdly, we have ample research data showing that a low GI diet works as an effective tool to reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases. Many of these studies show that altering the glycemic response of any diet could not be used as the only strategy for lifestyle changes but only as a part of the overall tool for a well-balanced diet plan.
 
Summary
 
Making use of the GI value is a valuable means to compare the carbohydrate content of various foods. Many companies might come up with various propagandas about time-to-time measure of glycemic response. Choosing low/medium GI foods is the smart approach to control blood sugar levels and when we have done this correctly, the response would automatically be controlled and stay under desired values.
 
The ADA suggests that the total amount of carbohydrates in any food rather than its GI has a stronger impact on the body’s blood sugar levels—this brings us to another important point which is portion control. Pick the right foods in the right proportions to eat nutrient-rich meals and stay healthy. For this, getting in touch with a nutritionist/dietitian is critical as we can plan a wholesome diet that takes care of GI values but still fulfils the various nutrient requirements of the body without compromising on any food group.