How to Calculate Glycemic Index?
Glycemic index is a number assigned to different foods. It is a system that gives numbers according to the presence of carbohydrates in food. This number varies according to the ability of foods to increase our blood sugar levels. We cannot consider a glycemic index as a diet plan. Instead, it is more of a food choice that helps you choose the foods with less effect on your blood sugar levels. Read more about How to Calculate Glycemic Index.
With low-GI value foods, you can consider less effect on your blood sugar levels. Alternatively, high-GI foods can cause a spike in the blood sugar levels. It is essential to understand the GI value of food before consuming it in a meal. Not just for diabetic patients, but people willing to follow a healthy and balanced diet also require proper insight into the GI-value of the foods present in their meal.
Thus, it is better to learn the appropriate way of calculating the GI value of foods to consume a balanced meal. Below we will mention a precise method of calculating the glycemic index of foods.
Determining Different Glycemic Index:
Before you calculate the GI value of foods, it’s essential to understand how you can classify them. This includes two proportions; low-GI and high-GI. You can easily organize the GI of food in these two categories. You can do this by keeping in mind the specific criteria of high and low GI foods.
Low Glycemic Index:
Low-GI foods can be determined when:
- Foods produce smaller fluctuations in our blood sugar levels/insulin levels.
- If it has a GI value of 55 or less.
Consuming these foods reduces the risks of heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.
High Glycemic Index:
The high GI value can be determined when:
- If its GI value is 70 or above.
- If they are rapidly digested/absorbed, and then metabolized in our body.
If you find foods with a GI value between 56 and 69, these foods are added to the mid-range GI foods.
Steps to Calculate GI Value:
To calculate the GI value of foods, you can consider following the below-mentioned steps.
- Determining Carbohydrates Content:
The first important step when calculating the GI value of foods is to determine how much carbohydrates are present in each meal portion. This can include both the liquid and solid part of your diet that you consume in a specific mealtime. For instance, if you drink orange juice and oatmeal in breakfast, both these foods will have different carbohydrates. So you need to consider both foods carbohydrate content present in them.
- Finding Carbs Proportion:
Next step is to discover the proportion of the carbs added by each component inside the meal. You can determine this by dividing the total gram of carbs with each component’s grams inside the meal. For instance, if we consider the same previous example, then a meal with orange juice and oatmeal’s has 48g of carbs. You can divide the carbs in each (orange juice and then oatmeal separately) with 48g of carbs.
It will help you understand how much carbs oatmeal is adding to the meal. Similarly, it will help you understand the contribution of orange juice carbs in the meal.
- Multiplying the Proportions:
Next, you need to multiply both; the proportions of the components and then GI value of the components. A predetermined GI value of any such type of food can be determined from the international and authentic GI tables. For instance, you can find the GI of orange juice and multiply it with its proportion calculated in the previous step. It will give you a final figure.
- Obtaining a Final Value:
The result you obtained in the previous step will be the final GI value that each food component will contribute to the meal. Now you can add this value of both food components and get a final sum. This last sum value will tell you how much the total GI value of the meal you’re consuming is (with each food component available in a specific quantity).
Conclusion – How to Calculate Glycemic Index
Once you evaluate your meal’s GI value, you can better determine whether it is a balanced and healthy meal combination for your health or not!