The Glycemic Index: A Correct Guide to Lose Weight Fast?
By: Sean Nalewanyj
Submitted: 2009-11-02 19:51:55 | Word Count: 811
In essence, carbohydrates can be categorized into two important types: simple and complex.
Linked rings of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms form the basic structure of carbohydrates.
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Whether a carbohydrate is classified as simple or complex is based on the molecular structure of the carbohydrate, such as how many rings the carbohydrate has and how the rings are linked together. The knowledge of which foods contain simple carbs and which contain complex carbs can be an effective guide to lose weight fast.
Most refined products, such as candy and juices, as well as fruits contain simple carbohydrates.
Conversely, vegetables, whole grains, and beans contain complex carbohydrates.
The well-accepted notion over the years has been that eating complex carbohydrates is better than eating simple carbohydrates.
Although this can function as a general guide to lose weight fast, it cannot be regarded as an accurate estimate of whether or not the food helps in weight loss.
This is because simply determining whether a food is a simple or complex carbohydrate fails to take into account the effect that the food has on the body's blood sugar levels.
While some simple carbohydrates will have minimal effect on the body's blood sugar levels, some complex carbohydrates can significantly raise these levels. For this reason, it becomes important to know more than just the difference between foods containing simple and complex carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates can be further classified by the glycemic index (GI).
The GI comprises of foods ranked on a scale of 0 to 100.
The lower the ranking of a food on the GI, the slower the food raises blood sugar levels.
Conversely, the higher the GI ranking of a food, the quicker it will raise blood sugar levels.
The ranking of a food on the GI is determined by the body's blood sugar levels two hours after that food has been eaten on an empty stomach.
For the GI to serve as a guide to lose weight fast, it should be noted that foods with a ranking of 55 are less are considered to be ranked low.
Foods in the medium rank are those with a ranking between 56 and 69.
Foods with a rank of 70 or more on the GI are regarded as high-ranked foods.
While the GI can provide guidance as to how foods affect blood sugar levels, this index alone should not be the only guide used in determining carbohydrate consumption.
The GI only considers the food's effect on the blood sugar levels when the food is consumed in isolation and on an empty stomach.
As is evident, the GI cannot be your only guide to lose weight fast because most people don't eat carbohydrates this manner.Carbs affect the body's blood sugar levels differently when they are consumed with lean proteins and other foods.
Further, it is not always true that healthy foods are ranked low on the GI and unhealthy foods are ranked high.
Nevertheless, the GI can serve as a useful tool when trying to eat healthy; in fact, it is a valuable supplementary guide to lose weight fast.
