Glycemic Index: The Secret to Weight Loss?

With an ever-increasing trend of obesity and with the advent of health fads, words such as
Intermittent Fasting, Paleo diet, and Atkins diet have become household terms. However, one
such type of diet is often overlooked and that term is Glycemic Index.

Some people may find this unnerving. Fortunately, Glycemic Index (GI) is as simple as choosing
the right type of food to eat. In fact, it carries the same principles as the more popular Paleo
diet. When paired with the proper amount of caloric consumption, it is an effective tool for
losing weight. And that is how you combine Science and Math!

Now, you may begin to ask, “What is it?”.

Glycemic index (GI) is a measure that ranks foods based on how fast or how slow they get
digested and absorbed by the body. As food enters the body, the digestive system absorbs it
and converts it into energy (a.k.a. sugars). As the body continually uses energy for its metabolic
functions (and even during your sleep, it does), it utilizes either the energy from food digested,
or the energy from your stored body fat (Hello, belly fat!).

Now, here’s the most important part. When high GI foods are absorbed the body will have a
spike of energy within a short span of time, thus the excess energy from food will be converted
to body fat – something every fitness freak shall dread. On the other hand, if low GI foods are
being absorbed (and even for the same number of calories) the body will experience a flatter
spike, but it extends to a longer period of time. Thus, one shall not feel hungry right away. In
this particular case, the body will less likely to have excess energy and consequently, there will
be lesser chances for it to be converted to body fat.

In the clinical setting, low GI foods are recommended for people trying to lose weight and for
people with diabetes. On the other hand, high GI foods are recommended for people before or
after a workout to compensate for the diminished energy stores brought by increased activity.

To help you understand which foods are low GI and high GI, here is a useful table of some
common foods found in the supermarket. And remember, lower GI is better!