Developed in 1981 at the University of Toronto by Dr. David Jenkins, the Glycemic Index (GI) is essentially a rating system for carbohydrates. It ranks carbohydrates according to the extent they can potentially affect people's blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates differ in the way or manner they are broken down or digested. Those that break down and get digested quickly have high ratings or scores. Due to their rapid breaking down process, they often leave much of their sugar content in the blood stream and pose the greatest harm for diabetics. Letting people know which foods are harmful harmful for those who need to maintain their blood sugar levels is how pricelessly the Glycemic Index helps.

Carbohydrates with high Glycemic Index ratings or scores include French potato fries, white bread, and those that consist mostly of foods mixed with, or made of, white flour and white sugar. Even the well-regarded corn flakes have high scores and are therefore deemed bad carbohydrates. Those who have been diagnosed with diabetes would do well to familiarize themselves with the information offered by the Glycemic Index so that they can determine which foods are harmful for them or not.

People with diabetes are advised to avoid carbohydrates as a general rule. But it is also true that avoiding carbodydrates all the time may not be feasible and practical. For this reason the GI offers more value as it can distinguish which foods can be more harmful for diabetics than others. Unknown to many, for example, is how the GI considers white bread as more harmful than candy bars.

Knowing further how the Glycemic Index helps is beneficial for those who wish to control their intake of carbohydrates, as well as for those who follow a diebetic diet. The GI identifies foods that take more time for absorption into bloodstreams. Thus they provide the body with nutrients while giving body systems time to expel excess glucose normally. These foods rate low on the GI. Certain vegetables and fruits belong to this group of foods. However, baked potatoes do not belong to this group and are therefore deemed harmful for diabetics.

Potatoes oddly rank among those on top of the Glycemic Index. They have one of the highest ratings. This therefore should give fair warning to French fries lovers. Potatoes are not only low in protein and high in fat, they are also rich in carbohydrates.

Aside from distinguishing the high and low raters, knowing which carbohydrates belong to the intermediate group is one more way of how the Glycemic Index helps. This group consists of foods with ratings of 56 up to 69. It includes croissants, candy bars, and several brown rices. Such an information is useful for those who want to formulate and carry out a diabetic diet as they get to understand which foods rate high, medium, or low.

We already know that white bread rates higher on the Index than candy bars. Diabetics and those who simply want to pursue a healthy diet would be wise then to avoid white bread more than candy bars. Learning which foods are most harmful and less harmful for diabetics is the key of how the Glycemic Index helps.

Hermilando Aberia is an expert in social development work with at least 22 years of professional experience as either consultant or key staff member of health, community development, education and local governance projects. He has a Master's Degree in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management. Contact Information: B21 L59 Kassel Kristina Heights, Tacloban City, Philippines. Mobile: (+63) 9058664106; Website: http://www.freewebs.com/iaberia

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