I have had many people warn me about the glycemic index of foods I regularly eat. I have been chastised for bananas, apples and other fruits. So, what is the glycemic index and should we be worried about it?
The glycemic index is a measure of carbohydrates effects on blood sugar after they are eaten. It is a scale from 1 - 100. So, it tells you if you eat this it affects your blood sugar like this. Why is this important information? In most cases it isn't important at all. Honestly, unless you are a diabetic the glycemic index is at best too much information and at worst harmful nonsense.
Why do we keep hearing about it then, Mr. Smarty Pants? There are people who love their numbers and create "diet" programs around them. The Zone diet was all the rage and used it. It sounds like some great official stuff, doesn't it? The problem is most of us will get no benefit from spending the time sorting our food by this scale and may actually opt for a less healthy food because of it's lower glycemic index number.
Skipping that apple because of this means you also skip the fiber and a bunch of other stuff that is great for you. What we need to avoid is processed foods and products made form them like fast food. If it didn't exist 50 years ago don't eat it.
If you have diabetes don't skip your fresh fruit - skip the mac and cheese. There have been great results for both type 1 and type 2 diabetics that go on a raw food diet and many who link the family history of diabetes to a family history of diet and exercise as the real cause of the link.
All this being said man cannot live on fruit alone. When they say you need so many servings of fruit and vegetables they should say vegetables and fruits. If you eat more whole foods and get regular exercise you do not need to even remember there ever was a glycemic index.
Eat whole foods and exercise shouldn't surprise anyone. Apples and bananas aren't going to hurt you.
Be very well and more soon...
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