The Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
If you are reading this, then you probably know about the Glycemic Index. What it is, and how it works. If you don't, then we recommend checking out our Glycemic Index portion of our Weight Loss diagram.
In Short, the Glycemic Index is the measure of a carbohydrate (if you aren't sure what a carbohydrate is, then look at our page About 40-30-30). The Glycemic Index (also known as GI) refers to the amount of increase and the rate of increase of blood sugar levels when you eat a carbohydrate. High GI foods cause a large/fast increase in blood sugar, which results in your body releasing insulin to control the blood sugar. Insulin, among other things, tells your body to store fat. That's why High Glycemic Foods are bad, and Low Glycemic Foods are good.
That's easy enough when you are just eating one carbohydrate at a time. You find the Glycemic Index of the food (this is shown for every ingredient in the FormulaZone database- just do a Search for Ingredients and find the ingredient you want to eat- we show you the GI).
What happens when you combine many foods, with different Glycemic Indices, in the same meal? More importantly, what is thing referred to as Glycemic Load?
FormulaZone keeps track of all of that for you. When you view a recipe, even though it says Glycemic Index, it is actually showing you the Glycemic Load of the meal.
The Glycemic Load takes the Glycemic Index to the next level, but it's not mysterious. Just think of it this way:
A Carrot is high glycemic. But, it is low calorie. That makes it a Low Glycemic Load food. You could hardly eat enough carrots to equal, say...
A Doughnut is also high glycemic. However, it is also high calorie. That makes it a High Glycemic Load food. One doughnut has a ton of high glycemic calories, which translates into the high glycemic load.
But there's more! Lets say you eat a meal that has carrots and zucchini in it. And for convenience sake, let's assume that there are equal calories of both. What happens then? Well, you average the Glycemic-Index-Per-Calorie to arrive at a net, or overall glycemic load for the meal. In this case, you have equal portions high and low glycemic foods, so you get a medium glycemic load meal.
So back to FormulaZone. Since the glycemic load is a critical part of 40-30-30 Nutrition, FormulaZone incorporates it into each and every meal, recipe, packaged meal, and ingredient that is offered. By knowing the GI of each and every ingredient, FormulaZone makes it very easy for you to see the net glycemic load of a meal, automatically! As you use the Menu Builder (or when you view a Recipe), FormulaZone adds up the GI values for every single ingredient, and calculates the Glycemic Load for you.
And We Don't Stop There. Since we understand the importance of the GI on your success with your 40-30-30 Nutrition Program, we are very picky about the recipes that we review. If you look at the list of Recipes that we have approved, you will find that fewer than 4% of the recipes we have approved are High Glycemic. That's because high glycemic foods should be a treat- not a regular part of your nutrition program.
To be fair, we have been a bit more lenient with packaged meals and fast food. For people on the go, the pickings are relatively slim. That means that we have had to allow more higher glycemic meals through into the Packaged Meals list, as well as the fast food list.
When you are feeling overwhelmed, or that it is just too complicated, remember one thing: That's exactly why FormulaZone was created. We keep track of all of these details for you, so that you don't have to! Just rely on the glycemic index for each recipe, and you don't have to worry about how it is calculated. Make yourself a Low Glycemic Menu Plan, and you will enjoy weight loss success while you feel great!