Glycemic index •

An Israeli research monitoring the levels of blood insulin in more than 800 people for several weeks indicated that when a group of individuals consumed the same foods, how they are assimilated differs from one subject to another. All results, released this week in medical journals, illustrate the importance of customized nutrition in assisting individuals to see which foods will help or restrict their own wellness objectives.

Blood sugar and insulin has a tight connection with health issues, such as diabetic complications and being overweight, and it is simple to measure it by using a consistent glucose tracker. A test developed many years ago, the glycemic index, is applied to position foods depending on how their ingredients influence blood sugar levels. This is an element used by physicians and dieticians to create healthy diet plans, but the program originated from analysis that average the way in which limited groups of individuals tolerate various foods.

This new research, led by Israeli scientists, discovered that the glycemic index of different foods are not set values, but rely upon the person that is tested. For all members, they gathered information through health surveys, body dimensions, blood tests, sugar monitoring, feces samples and mobile applications used to review lifestyle and individual diets. In addition, all volunteers obtained a few standard and similar foods for their meals.

As predicted, age and BMI were noticed to be linked to sugar levels after eating the scheduled meals, this result being identical to previous analyses performed on large groups of individuals. Besides this, the collected information also showed that different individuals have very different reactions to similar diets, even if their personal habits were not modified during the research.

Most nutritional suggestions met in the popular culture are depending on some of these rating systems, but what they do not emphasize or probably do not take completely into consideration is the important variations between people. In some instances, some subjects had opposite organic reactions to another person, and this represents a big gap in the literary works, according to the specialists who have conducted these tests.

Image source: Ourhealth

According to new study people shouldn’t be concerned of where their diet lies in the Glycemic index unless they have diabetes.

Food that cause the sugar level in the blood to rise sharply are called high Glycemic index and food that doesn’t rise the sugar level are named low Glycemic index. Although having almost same amount of carbohydrates, some foods can increase the sugar level more than other.

Dr. Frank Sacks, the study’s lead author from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston said “The big question is, does that translate to any health issues,”

Some previous studies say that people should adopt diets that are low on the Glycemic index and their value should be printed on their packaging.
Researchers added that uncertainty lies in getting benefits from the low -glycemic-diet especially if the diet is nutritious and heart healthy.

163 overweigh adults were taken for the study and each were provided with 4 heart-healthy diets to be followed for 5 weeks at a time between April 2008 and December 2010. Atleast two diets were completed by the participants.

The 4 diets include
• High carbohydrate foods on high glycemic index
• High carbohydrate foods on low glycemic index
• Low carbohydrate foods on high glycemic index
• Low carbohydrate foods on low glycemic index

Overall the researchers have found no improvement in health pointers among low and high glycemic diets.

No change was observed to hormone insulin which actually converts glucose into energy. No improvement in systolicpressure and amount of fat in blood was recorded.

Sacks remarked that it is expected that the body can handle variations in food on the glycemic index.

“I guess it just works normally in most people,” he said, but emphasized that glycemic index should be studied and followed among people with type 2 diabetes, which is also commonly known as adult-onset diabetes.

Dr. Robert Eckel, a past president of the American Heart Association and a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, wrote an editorial concomitant the new study, said the study’s message is that the glycemic index is not that important if a diet is already heart healthy.

“If you’re eating a heart-healthy diet, glycemic index is not important to consider, I think the emphasis need to be on the overall diet pattern.” He said.

Sacks concluded that people should follow Mediterranean food or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet which involves fruits, fish, poultry, fat-free dairy, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and vegetable oils.

Genetic Differences Found in People with Identical Diets

Glycemic index is of no concern unless you have diabetes: Study says

Categories