by Chira
The Glycemic Index is a ranking of foods by how much they increase your blood sugar levels 2-3 hours after you eat them. Foods high in carbohydrates like, starches and sugars are the ones you'll find in the index, because they're most likely to increase your blood sugar.
An increase in blood sugar (blood glucose) usually causes an increase in insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone that performs a number of functions in your body, one of which is to lower your blood sugar if it is too high. The more sudden the increase in blood sugar, the more likely it is that insulin will be increased in response.
Chronically high insulin is a problem for women with PCOS, because insulin profoundly alters overall hormone balance, and causes your metabolism to go crazy. Hyperinsulinism (excessive insulin) contributes to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. A must for controlling polycystic ovarian syndrome is to alter your insulin response after food or drink is consumed.
You can control your insulin to a great extent by avoiding upward spikes in your blood sugar from eating the wrong kinds of food.
The ranking of foods according their glycemic index value has led to the popular terms such as "high glycemic foods", "low glycemic foods", "low carb diet", and "glycemic load". If you can understand and implement the Glycemic Index concept, you will help yourself relieve many of the problems associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Top Complex vs. Simple Carbohydrates
Before the glycemic index came along, the primary distinction between a "good" carbohydrate and a "bad" carbohydrate was whether it was a "complex" or "simple" carbohydrate food.
A complex carbohydrate:
Consists of a huge number of glucose (sugar) molecules stitched together in long chains.
Is usually less processed than a simple carbohydrate.
Tends to be digested more slowly, and thus is less likely to raise your blood sugar.
Is often referred to as "starch" or "fiber". A starch is a complex carbohydrate held together by digestible stitches. Fiber is held together by indigestible stitches.
Two examples of complex carbohydrates: corn, sugar cane.In contrast, a simple carbohydrate:
Is a much smaller number of glucose molecules stitched together into short chains.
Frequently is more processed than a complex carbohydrate.
Is digested more quickly, and thus raises blood sugar more quickly.
Is often referred to as a "sugar".
Two examples of simple carbohydrates: corn syrup, table sugar.
Humans have been consuming unrefined complex carbohydrates for hundreds of thousands of years with no apparent ill effects. But as soon as we started refining and processing natural, complex carbohydrates into fabricated convenience foods, the rates of chronic disease began to increase dramatically. A large number of studies have shown a correlation between consumption of refined carbohydrates and chronic health disorders, including polycystic ovary syndrome.
Therefore, you are generally better off eating complex carbohydrates instead of simple ones. Complex carbohydrates are most commonly found in whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit.
However, your blood sugar response to eating a carbohydrate does not depend solely on whether it is a complex carbohydrate. For example, a natural, complex carbohydrate like a baked potato can increase your blood sugar higher than does table sugar, which is a simple, refined carbohydrate.
What Is the Glycemic Index?
Recent research has revealed another very important distinction among carbohydrates: the ability of different carbohydrates to increase your blood sugar level. The glycemic index is a list of foods that are ranked by the influence they have on your blood sugar level. Pure glucose is used as the reference food, and its index value is set to 100. All other foods are compared to glucose, and ranked accordingly. White bread has been used as the reference instead of glucose in some tests, which yields different index values. However, the relative ranking of the foods remains the same. In our discussion, we use glucose as the reference value.
How to Interpret the Glycemic Index
70 or higher = High glycemic index food
56-69 = Medium glycemic index food
0-55 = Low glycemic food
Take a look at the table below. Columns 1 and 2 list the food and its glycemic index. (Don't worry about the last 3 columns. We'll explain them in a moment.)
Glycemic Index of Selected Foods
Food Description (Col. 1)
Glycemic Index(GI) (Col. 2)
Nominal Serving Size(grams) (Col. 3)
Available Carbohydrate per serving (Col. 4)
Glycemic Load Per Serving (Col. 5)
Glucose 100 10 10 10
Mashed potato * 92 150 20 18
Corn flakes * 81 30 26 21
Rice cakes * 78 25 21 17
French fries 75 150 29 22
White bread * 70 30 14 10
Macaroni and cheese (Kraft) 64 180 51 32
Coca Cola 63 250 26 16
Sucrose (table sugar) * 61 10 10 6
Sweet potato * 61 150 28 17
Bran muffins 60 57 24 15
PowerBar * 56 65 42 24
Snicker's bar * 55 60 35 19
Brown rice * 55 150 33 18
Honey * 55 25 18 10
Sweet corn * 54 80 17 9
Banana * 52 120 24 12
Carrots, raw * 47 80 6 3
LEAN Fibergy Bar, Harvest Oat45 50 29 13
Apple juice * 40 250 30 12
Apple * 38 120 15 6
Lentils * 29 150 18 5
Notes: (1) The asterisk indicates that the glycemic index value is the mean value of more than one study. (2) Serving size is in grams. 100 grams = nearly of a pound. (3) "GI" is an abbreviation for Glycemic Index.
As you look at the first two columns, there are several things worth noting.
Mashed potatoes (GI = 92) increase your blood sugar almost as much as pure glucose does (GI = 100). So mashed potatoes are classified as a "high glycemic" food. In contrast, lentils have an index value of only 28, so lentils are a "low glycemic" food. In general, low-glycemic foods are better at controlling your blood sugar than high-glycemic foods. Thus, lentils are obviously much better for controlling your blood sugar than mashed potatoes.
Refined or processed foods generally have a higher glycemic index. For example, the glycemic index for rice cakes is 78 vs. 55 for brown rice. Corn flakes are high at 81 vs. sweet corn at 54. In general, the less refined or processed the food is, the lower its glycemic index will be. So consuming foods in their natural form is very much to your advantage.
You can make intelligent food substitutions that will lower the glycemic index of a snack or a meal. For example, some people consider a bran muffin or PowerBar as a healthy snack. However, an apple (GI = 38) is a much better choice than a bran muffin (GI = 60) or PowerBar (GI = 56). Or, if you're having a carbohydrate food as part of a main meal, sweet potatoes (GI = 61) are a better choice than mashed potatoes (GI = 92).
Some whole foods, such as carrots and bananas, have received a bum rap. There's a widespread but mistaken belief that carrots and bananas have a high glycemic index and must be avoided. In fact, both are classified as "low glycemic" foods. (However, the cooking of any starchy carbohydrate will increase its glycemic index.)
To see a much more complete list of the glycemic index for foods, we suggest that you read The New Glucose Revolution, by Jennie Brand-Miller and Thomas Wolever.
Women with PCOS are very likely to have insulin resistance and blood sugar abnormalities. Therefore, we recommend that you be cautious about the total glycemic load in any one meal.
Other Tips for Lowering Your Glycemic Index
1. Don't overcook carbohydrates. Extensive cooking causes the starch fibers to break down, thus making them easier and faster to digest. This is especially true for starchy foods like grains.
2. Use whole grains. By "whole", we mean the hull or skin is still attached. This fibrous coat slows down the assimilation of the carbohydrates inside. An obvious example is brown vs. white rice. Brown rice is still encased in its hull.
3. Minimize products that contain finely milled carbohydrates, especially flours. Small particle sizes are more quickly digested and absorbed. When you look at any glycemic index table, you'll notice that bread made with white flour has a value of 73 while bread made with whole wheat flour has glycemic index of 71, nearly the same. You would think that whole wheat bread would be have a much lower glycemic value because it has a lot more fiber. However, the fine milling nullifies the anti-glycemic effect of this fiber.
4. The type of fiber in the carbohydrate is important. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fiber does not absorb water, whereas soluble fiber does. As soluble fiber absorbs water, it becomes viscous and slows down the digestion of starches, which reduces your glycemic response. Apples, lentils, beans, and rolled oats have soluble fiber. Psyllium seed powder is a popular soluble fiber supplement.
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I found a great book by Dr. Walter Futterweit,MD a leading PCOS researcher and professor of medicine at Mount Sinai school of medicine in New York city. His book is easy to read and helped me a great deal. He discusses the glycemic index diet in a way that helped me understand it much better. He really understands this disorder. The book is full of helpful information about everything to do with this crazy thing called PCOS. I purchased it on Amazon.
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