Pros and Cons of the Glycemic Index Diet

The first question many of you are probably asking is what is the Glycemic index diet? It is a general term for diets that are based around managing your sugar levels. Many of the diets you hear about every day are based on this system, including Nutrisystem, the Zone diet and the South Beach Diet.

A glycemic index diet uses the glycemic index to manage your insulin levels during the day. The glycemic index was first designed to help control diabetes. The glycemic index rates carbohydrates or carbs according to how much they raise your blood sugar or insulin level.

The glycemic index diet is not necessarily considered a low-carbohydrate diet because you do have the ability to eat carbs on the meal plan. Fats are ignored in this diet. It doesn’t call for any calorie counting, but it does control what carbs you are allowed to eat. This diet limits the amount of starches you are allowed to consume.

What’s the point of the glycemic index diet? The diet suggests that by eating foods and drinking beverages with a low glycemic index rankings it will keep your sugar levels from spiking. Supporters claim this will help you lose fat and even reduce risk for certain chronic diseases. There are several reasons why people follow the glycemic index diet. One might follow this diet because you want to balance your sugar levels, want to improve your eating habits, don't want to reduce calories or limit carbohydrates, or want a diet that is sustainable over time.

The fans of the glycemic index diet which is sometimes referred to as a low GI diet, note that high sugar levels are linked to a variety of health problems. Those health problems include diabetes, obesity and heart disease. They also say that following a glycemic index diet will help lose weight and prevent chronic diseases. However research supporting the the glycemic index diet in weight loss have not been consistent. Skeptics claim you can achieve the same health benefits by just eating a healthy and getting adequate exercise.

Supporters of the glycemic index diet point to the health benefits. They say that you can improve or reduce the risk of serious diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Of course most diets can reduce or even reverse risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Also most diets to lose fat can improve your blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

The one glaring weakness of the glycemic index is that it doesn't rank foods according to how healthy they actually are. There are some foods with the low GI rankings that are less healthy because they contain large amounts of calories, sugar or saturated fat. A lot of these foods are packaged and processed foods. So while low glycemic index foods may help balance your blood sugar, it doesn’t mean that all low GI foods are actually healthy for you.

Joshua C Kozak - About Author:
About the Author: Joshua “Coach” Kozak has been a fixture in the world of health and fitness for over 10 years. Burn calories with HASfit's exercise to lose weight and get a ripped abs with HASfit’s abdominal exercises

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