Working with DVIF&G’s team of medical nutrition therapists, our doctors help patients achieve a healthy weight to enhance their fertility. One of the tools that they use in nutrition counseling is the Glycemic Index. It’s a tool used to rank different types of carbohydrates, such as white rice, pasta, or cereal, according to their effect on blood sugar levels, also known as glucose levels. The higher the Glycemic Index rating, the faster that carbohydrate turns to sugar in your blood. The lower the Glycemic Index rating, the slower it turns to sugar in your blood. It’s important to remember that it measures not only how much the blood sugar level rises, but also how quickly.
A very important sugar of which most carbohydrates are comprised, glucose provides energy to the body’s cells after it has been carried to them in the bloodstream. It can be used immediately or stored for later use. When there’s too much glucose in the blood, high blood sugar occurs known as hyperglycemia. When there’s too little glucose in the blood, low blood sugar occurs known as hypoglycemia. Neither condition is recommended. The body works to keep these levels in balance. Use of the Glycemic Index can help achieve a glucose balance that’s right for a particular individual.
The DVIF&G team recommends choosing foods with a low GI, 55 or lower. Numbers between 55 and 69 are moderate, and anything over 70 is considered high. Foods that contain any amount of carbohydrates that have a low GI number include most vegetables, legumes, whole grain breads, and most fresh fruit. Foods with carbohydrates that have a high GI include white breads and rolls, pretzels, white pasta, white rice, and sweetened fruit juice.
A very important sugar of which most carbohydrates are comprised, glucose provides energy to the body’s cells after it has been carried to them in the bloodstream. It can be used immediately or stored for later use. When there’s too much glucose in the blood, high blood sugar occurs known as hyperglycemia. When there’s too little glucose in the blood, low blood sugar occurs known as hypoglycemia. Neither condition is recommended. The body works to keep these levels in balance. Use of the Glycemic Index can help achieve a glucose balance that’s right for a particular individual.
The DVIF&G team recommends choosing foods with a low GI, 55 or lower. Numbers between 55 and 69 are moderate, and anything over 70 is considered high. Foods that contain any amount of carbohydrates that have a low GI number include most vegetables, legumes, whole grain breads, and most fresh fruit. Foods with carbohydrates that have a high GI include white breads and rolls, pretzels, white pasta, white rice, and sweetened fruit juice.