GL - Glycemic Load what is it, how to calculate this for each food and why can be more accurate than the GI - Glycemic Index

-


Similar to the GI we can divide food based on GL that can be:

LOW:  under 10

MEDIUM: 11-19

HIGH: over 20 


 In the previous post we discussed about the GI - Glicemic Index and you might have noticed that sometimes could be confusing and has some flows:

- It doesn't consider a portion of that food, so is just giving a generic number to it and sometimes is not that accurate

- An example is: watermelon which appears to have a high GI but is actually not becuase it reaches that level only with a very large portion 

- GI is a good way to make quick food choices but GL is more accurate and is the next step for a better understanding on what kind of food choices to make

- The preparation and other ingredients change the GI for example fibers or a longer cooking method will lower the GI level from the one you will see reported officially


There are many tables you can find online basically for any kind of food and here some:


http://dietdatabase.com/glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load/

http://laotracaradelainsulina.com/en/feeding/glycemic-load/



In case you ever need to calculate this by yourself, here is the formula:

GL = Gl  x Carbohydrate in that food and the resuld divided by 100


For exampe a portion of 200 gr of cous cous has 45 gr of carbs and a GI of 60

So the GL is: 45 x 60 divided by 100 =  27 which is a high GL


As you can see is more accurate becuase is possible to reduce the portion and have a better GL so you don't have to avoid completely any food, this flexibilty is not possible when calculating the Glicemic index because is just giving a single number 


Another tool to make things quikcer is the GL calculator, here is the link if you need:

https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/glycemic-load



Benefits:

- This can actually help to prevent spikes of your sugar level and keep that more stable

- Is more accurate as you can get the exact number depending on the portion you are eating 

- It's easy to calculate with the formula provided but nowdays it's quicker to search directly the GL online for the food you are looking for and get the number already calculated for you 

- Better control and prediction of your insulin production anf blood sugar medication if you are using any


Here are some more posts to achieve a low GL diet, I hope it helps: 


https://www.safdietitian.com/2021/09/what-is-low-gi-glycemic-index-and-how.html


https://www.safdietitian.com/2019/08/vegan-alternatives-low-in-carbs-that.html


https://www.safdietitian.com/2021/06/gut-microbiota-how-important-it-is-and.html


https://www.safdietitian.com/2019/07/alternatives-to-sugar-and-stevia.html

Comments

  1. URBAN DIET19/05/2022, 10:27

    I agree with a lot of the points you made in this article. If you are looking for the Pregnancy Diet Plan Indian, then visit URBAN DIET. I appreciate the work you have put into this and hope you continue writing on this subject.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the LOW GI (Glycemic index) and how to achieve this and a handy food list to use

-
Image
  GI stands for Glicemin Index  This is used to measure how a specific food intake is going to rise your blood sugar levels The point is that having a low GI or slow release carbs will help to keep this level low and avoid having peaks with your glucose and therefore the hormones produced by the body during a peak of sugar in your blood The benefits is not a simple weight loss, this plan has a wide range of positve aspects including: - Lower the cholseterol levels  - Reducing the risks of heart diseases - More energy during the day thanks to the slow release of it  - Reducing the risk of developing Diabetes, or keep that under control if already diagnosed Anything that has a GI level can be classified in: LOW GI - under 55 MEDIUM GI -  56-69 HIGH GI - over 70 I will provide a list of food for each of these levels, to have an idea of what to reduce and what to prefer, for any particular ingredient you can also check this trustable source: https://glycemicindex.com/ Things to consider: -
Read more

10 cal fruit jelly one of the snack lowest in sugar and calories, also suitable for vegetarian

-
One of the first snack alternative I usually discuss with patients is this one: The low sugar Jelly WHY? Suitable for vegetarian ,  which means is suitable for lot of different dietary choices that could be due to religion or ethic reasons, but I would recommend to always double check the label to confirm this. Flexible to mix with other products like yogurt or even ice cream , to still have something that you like but with a considerable reduced amount of sugars and calories Easy to transport as a snack when you are out to avoid a high in calories snacks from the shop  Doesn't require any preparation at all WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE: There are different brands let's see the differences: Hartley's 10 cal jelly: Calories: between 5 and 10 calories depending on the flavour Sugar: 0.1 gr Fat:  0.1 gr Protein: 0.1 gr Flavours:  - Lime - Mango - Orange - Blueberry - Cranberry - Raspberry - Strawberry - Waterm
Read more