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For those of us that AREN'T insulin-dependent, and are watching our carbs closely, do folks use just the GI (glycemic index) or do you take into account the GL (glycemic load) when figuring if you should eat something?
For those unfamiliar with the Glycemic Load, this is taken from Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load ...
I'd sure LIKE to eat the occasional watermelon, which shows as high GI... but 200g of watermelon turns out to have a GL of only 4, which is extremely low... (the key seems to be to NOT eat the entire freaking watermelon). The same goes for pineapple, which has a fairly high GI... it's GL for 1/2c serving is only 6, again very low. (I do get bored restricting my fruit intake to just berries and granny smith apples...)
So... considering these lower-GL foods all seem to be rather small servings (at least for what N.Americans are used to), is it worth it to try to use the GL of foods, and eat carbs based on that, or stick to the GI? Or maybe look at both?
Or should I just count carbs like I've been doing and keep my intake under a certain amount per meal and per day as per my norm now?
For those unfamiliar with the Glycemic Load, this is taken from Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load ...
Now granted, when I look at things like an Apple/Oatmeal (sugarless) muffing having a low-glycemic load, I look at the serving size... 60g is a SMALL serving of muffin. Most muffins are NOT 60g (that's approximately 2 ounces) so we're talking 1/3 to 1/2 a muffin depending on it's size... That's basically a one-bite muffin for a guy with a mouth my size. (OK, maybe TWO bites)Mendosa.Com said:The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load comes in. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low.
I'd sure LIKE to eat the occasional watermelon, which shows as high GI... but 200g of watermelon turns out to have a GL of only 4, which is extremely low... (the key seems to be to NOT eat the entire freaking watermelon). The same goes for pineapple, which has a fairly high GI... it's GL for 1/2c serving is only 6, again very low. (I do get bored restricting my fruit intake to just berries and granny smith apples...)
So... considering these lower-GL foods all seem to be rather small servings (at least for what N.Americans are used to), is it worth it to try to use the GL of foods, and eat carbs based on that, or stick to the GI? Or maybe look at both?
Or should I just count carbs like I've been doing and keep my intake under a certain amount per meal and per day as per my norm now?