Glycaemic index doesn’t reliably predict blood sugar

People with prediabetes who eat the same foods as each other can end up with very
different blood sugar levels. These findings, which were presented at the online
American Society for Nutrition conference on 15 June, are the latest to suggest that
the glycaemic index (GI) is an unreliable predictor of how foods affect blood sugar
levels. The idea behind GI is simple: foods are scored based on how quickly they
increase glucose levels in the blood. Those that score above 70 are considered high
GI foods, meaning they rapidly raise blood sugar levels. Those that score 55 or less
are low GI foods, meaning they do so more slowly.

The trouble is that mounting evidence indicates that no two people metabolise food
in the same way. For example, a 2016 study of 63 people found that the GI of white
bread ranged from35 to 103.When the same experiments were repeated, even within
individuals, blood sugar responses varied by about 20 per cent. “This effectively
places white bread in all three GI categories [low, medium, high], indicating that the
GI methodology is not reproducible even under highly standardized conditions,” the
lead author of that study, Nirupa Matthanat Tufts University in Massachusetts, said
at the conference. There is now good evidence that a host of things – such as what
you ate for your last meal or whether you eat bread on its own or with protein– can
affect blood sugar levels. In the new study, Mindy Pattersonat Texas Woman’s
University and her colleagues focused on people with prediabetes, a condition where
blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered type
2 diabetes. For one week, they gave eight participants an identical diet high in
resistant starch, a kind of starch found in oats and beans that can help regulate blood
sugar levels. The researchers measured the participants’ blood sugar levels at the
start and end of the week, in both instances after they drank a glass of chocolate
milk.
There was wide variation in the participants’ glucose responses not only at the start,
but also at the end – even after a week on exactly the same diet, says Patterson. The
findings, which are still under review, reinforce the idea that there is no consistent
blood sugar response to specific foods. “The utility of the glycaemic index is very
limited,” says Patterson. “People think, ‘well, if I consume this food that is low GI,
it’s going to be healthier for me’, when in essence, you don’t know how you’re going
to respond to that food.” So, is it time to scrap GI altogether? Not quite, says David
Jenkins at the University of Toronto, Canada, who created it more than40years ago.
“The fact that many things alter glucose response to food and people have noticed
these differences is great,” he says.
But “it must be remembered GI is only one attribute of food”. Several large-scale
reviews have shown an association between high GI diets and an increased risk of
cardiovascular disease and premature death, but those results may reflect the fact
that high GI foods, like doughnuts or soda, are less healthy in general. Instead of
worrying about GI, Patterson and Matthan recommend a diverse, healthy diet: eat
fish, whole grains and vegetables, and limit red meat and sugary drink.

Essential words for writing and speaking

1. Glycaemic index - a system for listing foods according to how quickly they
increase the level of sugar in your blood.
GI methodology is complex, but captures best measurement of blood sugar.
2. Predictor - something such as an event or fact that enables you to say what will
happen in the future.
One of the best predictors of a student's achievement is the socioeconomic status
of the parents.
3. Metabolize - to use chemical processes in the body to turn food into energy, new
growth, and waste products.
 Fat is metabolized by your body and cleared through the liver as a normal
process.
4. Indicate - to show, point, or make clear in another way.
Exploratory investigations have indicated large amounts of oil below the sea
bed.
5. Reproducible - able to be shown, done, or made again.
The method produces statistically reliable and reproducible results.
6. Identical - exactly the same, or very similar.
The test is identical to the one you took last year.
7. Variation - a change in amount or level.
Unemployment rates among white-collar workers show much less regional
variation than corresponding rates among blue-collar workers.
8. Attribute - a quality or characteristic that someone or something has.
Organizational ability is an essential attribute for a good manager.
9. Cardiovascular - relating to the heart and blood vessels (= tubes that carry blood
around the body).
In 128 middle-aged patients treated with medication for 5 years for moderately
elevated blood pressure, it is possible to avoid cardiovascular disease in one
individual.
10. Premature - happening or done too soon, especially before the natural or
suitable time.
It is future potential worths that are not realized because of premature deaths
that matter.