The glycemic index is a scale that
measures how quickly carbohydrates are broken down into glucose. The original
purpose of the glycemic index was to help diabetics keep their blood glucose
under control. The glycemic index has recently attracted a lot of attention in
the bodybuilding, fitness and weight loss world and is all the rage these days.
Nary an issue of a fitness or bodybuilding mag is published without some
reference to the glycemic index and diet books such as "The Zone," and "Sugarbusters"
worship the index like some kind of idol. According to advocates of the glycemic
index system, foods that are high on the scale such as rice cakes, carrots,
potatoes, or grape juice are "unfavorable" and should be avoided because they
are absorbed so rapidly and are therefore more likely to convert to fat.
Instead, we are urged to consume carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic
index such as black eye peas, oatmeal, peanuts, apples and beans.
While the glycemic index does have some useful applications, the flaw in
stringently adhering to the glycemic index to dictate all your carb choices is
that the index is based on carbohydrates being eaten by themselves in a fasted
state. An effective fat-burning, muscle building diet is based on always
combining carbs and protein together. When carbs are eaten in mixed meals that
contain protein and some fat, the glycemic index loses some of its significance
because the protein and fat slows the absorption of the carbohydrates.
For example, mashed potatoes have a glycemic index near that of pure glucose, but
combine the potatoes with a chicken breast and vegetables and the glycemic index
of the entire meal is much lower than the potatoes by itself. Similarly, rice
cakes have a very high glycemic index, but if you were to put a couple
tablespoons of peanut butter on them, the fat would slow the absorption of the
carbs, thereby lowering the glycemic index of the combination.
A far more important and relevant criteria for selecting carbs is whether they
are natural or processed. To say that one should not eat natural foods like
potatoes simply because they are high on the glycemic index is ridiculous.
Potatoes are an outstanding source of starchy complex carbs. Eaten exactly as it
is found in nature, an 8 oz potato has only 170 calories, almost no fat, is
loaded with essential nutrients and is satisfying to eat. Compare that to 8 oz
of a processed carb such as pasta, which has 840 calories. Which do you think is
the better choice if you want to get ripped?
You could also check out Will Brink's book,
Diet Supplements Revealed
- it has info on GI as well (although Will feels the GI deserves a little more
emphais than I do) regardless, his book is superb for the supplement info as
well as the GI info:
http://aboutsupplements.com
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, personal trainer, gym owner, freelance
writer and author of
BURN THE FAT, FEED THE MUSCLE: Fat Burning Secrets of the
World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 140 articles
and has been featured in IRONMAN magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular
Development, Muscle-Zine, Exercise for Men and Men's Exercise. Tom is the Fat
Loss Expert for Global-Fitness.com and the nutrition editor for Femalemuscle.com
and his articles are featured regularly on literally dozens of other websites.
The importance of the Glycemic Index
(12/09/2003)
