Obesity is among the most important medical problems in the United States today. Currently, 1 in 4 children and 1 in 2 adults are overweight, and prevalence rates that have increased by 50% since the 1960s. The Federal government and various official medical agencies, at the behest of grain producers, have advocated decreasing intake of total fat, while increasing consumption of “complex carbohydrate.” Consumption of carbohydrates has increased over the years, and the nation’s levels of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease have dramatically risen. Americans, on average, eat 250 to 300 grams of carbs a day, accounting for about 55% of their caloric intake.
All carbohydrates (a category including sugars) convert to sugar in the blood, and the more refined the carbs are, the quicker the conversion. When you eat a glazed doughnut or a serving of mashed potatoes, it turns into blood sugar very quickly. To manage the blood sugar, the pancreas produces insulin, which pushes glucose from the blood stream into cell to be used for energy conversion or storage.
When cells become more resistant to those insulin instructions, the pancreas needs to make more insulin to push the same amount of glucose into cells. As people become insulin resistant, carbs become a bigger challenge for the body. When the pancreas gets exhausted and can’t produce enough insulin to keep up with the glucose in the blood, diabetes develops
The first sign of insulin resistance is a condition called metabolic syndrome — a red flag for impending diabetes and heart disease. Metabolic syndrome (found in nearly 1/4 of adults) is diagnosed when people have three or more of the following:
- high blood triglycerides (more than 150 mg)
- high blood pressure (over 135/85)
- central obesity (a waist circumference in men of more than 40 inches and in women, more than 35 inches)
- low HDL cholesterol (under 40 in men, under 50 in women)
- elevated fasting glucose.
Glycemic Index measures the “effect of food on blood glucose levels.” It is a ranking of foods based on the how quickly the blood sugar levels will increase after ingestion. A low glycemic food gives a slow increase in blood sugar levels. A high glycemic index food gives a more rapid rise in blood sugar levels.
GI is specifically defined as the measurable glucose response curve after consumption of 50 g carbohydrate from a test food, divided by the response after consumption of 50 g glucose.
The GI for glucose would be defined as 100.
- High GIs are above 50
- Intermediate GIs range between 35 and 50
- Low GIs are below or equal to 35
| Corn syrup | 115 |
| Beer | 110 |
| Glucose (dextrose) | 100 |
| Modified starch | 100 |
| Glucose syrup | 100 |
| Wheat syrup, rice syrup | 100 |
| Fried potatoes, scalloped potatoes | 95 |
| Potato flour (starch) | 95 |
| Rice flour | 95 |
| Maltodextrin | 95 |
| Potatoes, oven cooked | 95 |
| Potato flour | 90 |
| Gluten-free white bread | 90 |
| Sticky rice | 90 |
| Arrow-root | 85 |
| Celeriac, knob celery, turnip rooted celery (cooked) | 85 |
| Hamburger buns | 85 |
| Maizena (corn starch) | 85 |
| Pop corn (without sugar) | 85 |
| Rice cake/pudding | 85 |
| Tapioca | 85 |
| White sandwich bread | 85 |
| Carrots (cooked) | 85 |
| Corn flakes | 85 |
| Instant/parboiled rice | 85 |
| Parsnip | 85 |
| Puffed rice | 85 |
| Rice milk | 85 |
| Turnip (cooked) | 85 |
| White wheat flour | 85 |
| Mashed potatoes | 80 |
| Lasagna (soft wheat) | 75 |
| Rice milk (with sugar) | 75 |
| Waffle (with sugar) | 75 |
| Doughnuts | 75 |
| Pumpkin, gourd | 75 |
| Squash/marrow (various) | 75 |
| Watermelon | 75 |
| Bagels | 70 |
| Biscuit | 70 |
| Cabbage turnip, rutabaga, Swede turnip | 70 |
| Cola drinks, soft drinks, sodas | 70 |
| Croissant | 70 |
| Gnocchi | 70 |
| Millet, sorghum | 70 |
| Mush | 70 |
| Pealed boiled potatoes | 70 |
| Polenta, cornmeal | 70 |
| Puffed amaranth | 70 |
| Refined cereals (with sugar added) | 70 |
| Risotto | 70 |
| Special K™ | 70 |
| Tacos | 70 |
| Whole brown sugar | 70 |
| Baguette white bread | 70 |
| Brioche | 70 |
| Chocolate bar (with sugar added) | 70 |
| Corn flour | 70 |
| Dried dates | 70 |
| Matzo bread (white flour) | 70 |
| Molasses | 70 |
| Noodles (tender wheat) | 70 |
| Plantain/cooking banana/platano (cooked) | 70 |
| Potato chips, crisps | 70 |
| Ravioli (soft wheat) | 70 |
| Rice bread | 70 |
| Rusk | 70 |
| Standard rice | 70 |
| White sugar (sucrose) | 70 |
| Chestnut flour | 65 |
| Couscous, semolina | 65 |
| Hovis, brown bread (with leaven) | 65 |
| Maple syrup | 65 |
| Mars®, Sneakers®, Nuts®, etc. | 65 |
| Pain au chocolat | 65 |
| Pineapple (tin/can) | 65 |
| Raisins (red and golden) | 65 |
| Sorbet (with sugar added) | 65 |
| Sweet corn, corn | 65 |
| Tropical yam -US-, yam | 65 |
| Unpeeled boiled/steamed potato | 65 |
| Beet, beetroot (cooked) | 65 |
| Chinese noodles/vermicelli (rice) | 65 |
| Fava bean, broad bean, horse bean (cooked) | 65 |
| Jam (with sugar added) | 65 |
| Marmalade (with sugar) | 65 |
| Muesli (with sugar or honey added…) | 65 |
| Panapen, breadfruit, breadnut | 65 |
| Quince (preserve/jelly, with sugar) | 65 |
| Rye bread (30% of rye) | 65 |
| Spelt, einkorn | 65 |
| Tamarind, Indian date (sweet) | 65 |
| Unpeeled boiled/steamed potato | 65 |
| Whole-grain bread | 65 |
| Apricots ( tin/can with syrup) | 60 |
| Chestnut | 60 |
| Honey | 60 |
| Lasagna (hard wheat) | 60 |
| Mayonnaise (industrial, sweetened) | 60 |
| Milk loaf, milk white | 60 |
| Ovomaltine | 60 |
| Perfumed rice (jasmine…) | 60 |
| Powder chocolate (with sugar) | 60 |
| Bananas (ripe) | 60 |
| Hard/durum wheat semolina | 60 |
| Ice cream (regular, with sugar added) | 60 |
| Long-grain rice | 60 |
| Melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, etc.) | 60 |
| Oatmeal, porridge | 60 |
| Pearl barley | 60 |
| Pizza | 60 |
| Ravioli (hard wheat) | 60 |
| Bulgur wheat (cooked) | 55 |
| Grape juice (unsweetened) | 55 |
| Ketchup | 55 |
| Manioc, mandioca, yucca, Cassava (bitter) | 55 |
| Mustard (sugar added) | 55 |
| Papaya (fresh fruit) | 55 |
| Red rice | 55 |
| Sushi | 55 |
| Butter cookies, shortbread, spritz biscuit (flour, butter, sugar) | 55 |
| Japanese plum, loquat | 55 |
| Mango juice (unsweetened) | 55 |
| Manioc, mandioca, yucca, cassava (sweet) | 55 |
| Nutella® | 55 |
| Peaches (tin/can, with syrup) | 55 |
| Spaghetti (well cooked) | 55 |
| Tagliatelle (well cooked) | 55 |
| All Bran™ | 50 |
| Basmati rice | 50 |
| Bread with quinoa (approximately 65% of quinoa) | 50 |
| Cereal bar, energetic (no sugar added) | 50 |
| Cranberry juice (unsweetened) | 50 |
| Kiwifruit, monkey peach | 50 |
| Macaronis (durum wheat) | 50 |
| Muesli (no sweet) | 50 |
| Pineapple juice (unsweetened) | 50 |
| Wasa™ light rye | 50 |
| Whole wheat pasta | 50 |
| Apple juice (unsweetened) | 50 |
| Biscuit (whole flour, no sugar added) | 50 |
| Brown rice, unpolished rice | 50 |
| Chayote, chocho, pear squash, christophine | 50 |
| Jerusalem artichoke | 50 |
| Litchi (fresh fruit) | 50 |
| Mango (fresh fruit) | 50 |
| Persimmon, kaki-persimmon | 50 |
| Sweet potatoes | 50 |
| Whole couscous/semolina | 50 |
[/learn_more]
[learn_more caption=”Intermediate Glycemic Index Foods (GI 35-50)”]
| Brown basmati rice | 45 |
| Coconut | 45 |
| Farro flour (integral) | 45 |
| Grapes, green and red (fresh fruit) | 45 |
| Jam (no sugar added, grapefruit juice sweetened) | 45 |
| Kamut flour (integral) | 45 |
| Orange juice (fresh squeezed and unsweetened) | 45 |
| Plantain/cooking banana/platano (raw) | 45 |
| Rye (integral; flour, bread) | 45 |
| Spelt, einkorn (integral) | 45 |
| Toasted integral bread | 45 |
| Whole bulgur wheat (cooked) | 45 |
| Whole couscous, whole semolina | 45 |
| Bananas (unripe) | 45 |
| Capellini pasta | 45 |
| Cranberry | 45 |
| Grapefruit juice (unsweetened) | 45 |
| Green peas (tin/can) | 45 |
| Kamut bread | 45 |
| Muesli Montignac | 45 |
| Pineapple (fresh fruit) | 45 |
| Plantain/cooking banana/platano (raw) | 45 |
| Sandard Pumpernickel bread | 45 |
| Spelt, einkorn (integral) | 45 |
| Tomato sauce (with sugar) | 45 |
| Whole cereals (no sugar added) | 45 |
| Bread, 100% integral flour with pure leaven | 40 |
| Buckwheat, kasha, saracen (integral; flour or bread) | 40 |
| Coconut milk | 40 |
| Dried plums/prunes | 40 |
| Falafel (fava beans) | 40 |
| Fava beans, broad beans, horse beans (raw) | 40 |
| Kidney/pinto beans (tin/can) | 40 |
| Matzo bread (integral flour) | 40 |
| Oat flakes (uncooked) | 40 |
| Peanut butter (no suger addes) | 40 |
| Quince (preserve/jelly, without sugar) | 40 |
| Shortbread, spritz biscuit (integral flour, no sugar added) | 40 |
| Tahin | 40 |
| Al dente spaghetti (5 min cook) | 40 |
| Brut cider | 40 |
| Carrot juice (unsweetened) | 40 |
| Dried fig | 40 |
| Egyptian wheat, kamut | 40 |
| Farro | 40 |
| Integral wheat pasta, al dente | 40 |
| Lactose | 40 |
| Montignac Pumpernickel | 40 |
| Oats | 40 |
| Pepino dulce, melon pear | 40 |
| Quinoa flour | 40 |
| Sorbet (unsweetened) | 40 |
| Adzuki/azuki bean | 35 |
| Amaranth, seeds | 35 |
| Apple stew, apple sauce | 35 |
| Cassoulet (meat and beans French dish) | 35 |
| Chick pea flour | 35 |
| Chinese noodles/vermicelli (hard wheat), noodles | 35 |
| Custard apple, cherimoya, sherbet fruit, soursop, guanabana | 35 |
| Dried apples | 35 |
| Dried tomatos | 35 |
| Falafel (chick peas) | 35 |
| Green peas (fresh) | 35 |
| Ice cream (with real fructose) | 35 |
| Kidney/pinto beans | 35 |
| Nectarines (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Peaches (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Pomegranate (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Quinoa, hie | 35 |
| Sunflower seeds | 35 |
| Tomato sauce (natural, no sugar added) | 35 |
| White almond paste/puree (unsweetened) | 35 |
| Wild rice | 35 |
| Yoghurt | 35 |
| Ale strains | 35 |
| Apple (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Black beans | 35 |
| Celeriac, knob celery, turnip rooted celery (raw) | 35 |
| Chick peas, garbanzo beans (tin/can) | 35 |
| Cranberry bean, borlotti bean, Roman bean | 35 |
| Dijon type mustard | 35 |
| Dried apricots | 35 |
| Essene/ezekiel bread (sprouted cereals bread) | 35 |
| Figs; Indian/barbary fig (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Green peas (fresh) | 35 |
| Indian corn | 35 |
| Linum, sesame (seeds) | 35 |
| Oranges (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Plums, prunes (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Quince (fresh fruit) | 35 |
| Soy yogurt (fruit flavored) | 35 |
| Tomato juice | 35 |
| Wasa™ fiber (24%) | 35 |
| White beans, haricot beans, cannellini beans, faziola beans | 35 |
| Yeast | 35 |
[/learn_more]
| Bread (Montignac integral bread) | 34 |
| Almond milk | 30 |
| Beet (raw) | 30 |
| Carrots (raw) | 30 |
| Chinese noodles/vermicelli (made from soy or mung beans) | 30 |
| Garlic | 30 |
| Marmalade (no sugar added) | 30 |
| Oat milk (non cooked) | 30 |
| Pears (fresh fruit) | 30 |
| Curd cheese | 30 |
| Soy milk | 30 |
| Tomatoes | 30 |
| Yellow lentils | 30 |
| Apricots (fresh fruit) | 30 |
| Brown lentils | 30 |
| Chick peas, garbanzo beans | 30 |
| French beans, string beans | 30 |
| Grapefruit, pummelo, shaddock (fresh fruit) | 30 |
| Milk | 30 |
| Passion fruit, maracuja, granadilla | 30 |
| Powdered/fresh milk | 30 |
| Scorzoneras | 30 |
| Tangerines, madarines, satsuma | 30 |
| Turnip (raw) | 30 |
| Blanched barley | 25 |
| Cherries | 25 |
| Flageolet beans, fayot beans | 25 |
| Green lentils | 25 |
| Mung beans, moong dal | 25 |
| Raspberry (fresh fruit) | 25 |
| Seeds (squash/marrow) | 25 |
| Split peas | 25 |
| Whole-almond paste/puree (unsweetened) | 25 |
| Blackberry, mulberry | 25 |
| Blueberry, whortleberry, bilberry | 25 |
| Dark chocolate (more than 70% of cocoa content) | 25 |
| Gooseberry | 25 |
| Hummus, homus, humus | 25 |
| Peanut paste/puree (unsweetened) | 25 |
| Redcurrant | 25 |
| Soy flour | 25 |
| Strawberries (fresh fruit) | 25 |
| Whole-hazelnut paste/puree (unsweetened) | 25 |
| Artichoke | 20 |
| Chocolate, plain (>85% of cocoa) | 20 |
| Heart of palm, cabbage palm | 20 |
| Lemon juice (unsweetened) | 20 |
| Montignac sugarless jam | 20 |
| Ratatouille | 20 |
| Soy “cream” | 20 |
| West Indian cherry, acerola | 20 |
| Bamboo shoot | 20 |
| Eggplant, aubergine | 20 |
| Lemon | 20 |
| Montignac Real fructose, fruit sugar | 20 |
| Powder cocoa (no sugar added) | 20 |
| Soy yogurt (unflavored) | 20 |
| Tamari sauce (unsweetened) | 20 |
| Almonds | 15 |
| Black currant | 15 |
| Broccoli | 15 |
| Cabbage | 15 |
| Cashew nut, acajou | 15 |
| Celery | 15 |
| Chicory, endive | 15 |
| Courgettes, zucchini | 15 |
| Fennel | 15 |
| Hazelnuts, filberts, Barcelona nuts | 15 |
| Mushroom, fungus | 15 |
| Onions | 15 |
| Pesto | 15 |
| Pickle | 15 |
| Pistachio, green almond | 15 |
| Rhubarb | 15 |
| Salad, lettuce | 15 |
| Shallot, echalot, Spanish garlic | 15 |
| Soya | 15 |
| Spinaches | 15 |
| Sweet peppers (red, green), paprika | 15 |
| Tofu, soybean curd | 15 |
| Wheat germ | 15 |
| Agave (syrup) | 15 |
| Asparagus | 15 |
| Bran (oat, wheat…) | 15 |
| Brussels sprouts | 15 |
| Carob powder | 15 |
| Cauliflower | 15 |
| Cereal shoots (soy or mung bean sprouts, etc.) | 15 |
| Chili pepper | 15 |
| Cucumber | 15 |
| Ginger | 15 |
| Leeks, scallions | 15 |
| Olives | 15 |
| Peanuts | 15 |
| Physalis, golden gooseberry, Cape gooseberry, Chinese lantern, husk tomato | 15 |
| Pine seed | 15 |
| Radish | 15 |
| Runner beans, Italian flat beans | 15 |
| Sauerkraut, sourcrout | 15 |
| Sorrel dock | 15 |
| Spinach beet, perpetual spinach | 15 |
| Sprouted seeds | 15 |
| Tempeh | 15 |
| Walnuts | 15 |
| Low GI Montignac pasta (spaghetti) | 10 |
| Avocado | 10 |
| Low GI Montignac spaghetti | 10 |
| Crustaceans | 5 |
| Vinegar | 5 |
| Spices (parsley, basil, oregano, cinnamon, vanilla, etc.) | 5 |
In general, refined grain products and potato have a high GI, exceeding that of table sugar by up to 50%, whereas most vegetables, fruits and legumes have a low GI. Other factors including carbohydrate type, fiber, protein, fat, food form and method of preparation, determine the GI of a particular food.
According to data from the Department of Agriculture, >80% of the carbohydrate currently consumed by children ages 2–18 has a GI equal to or greater than that of table sugar. Moreover, carbohydrate absorption rate (and therefore GI) is increased after a low fat meal because fat acts to delay gastric emptying.
The rapid absorption of glucose from the high GI meal results in a high insulin secretion; which promotes uptake of glucose in muscle, liver and fat tissue and inhibits fat breakdown (lipolysis). In the post absorptive period, a transient hypoglycemia ensues, with blood sugars falling below normal due to high insulin, resulting in hunger and agitation. In some individuals, this may cause tremendous anxiety, which may create a feedback loop of carbohydrate addiction. Experimental evidence also suggests that elevated insulin levels, even just for 48–72-h period (in the presence of normal or reduced blood sugar levels) decreases insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects creating a diabetic effect of insulin resistance.
Without a doubt, high GI foods elicit (calorie for calorie) higher insulin levels than low GI foods. In humans, high acute insulin secretion after intravenous glucose tolerance tests predicts weight gain. High insulin levels also reduce Growth Hormone levels, which may reduce metabolic rate. Hormonal responses to a high GI diet stimulate hunger and favor storage of fat, which promotes excessive weight gain.
The LiveHealthProtocol dietary recommendation is designed to lower the insulin response to ingested carbohydrate (low GI), which improves access to stored metabolic fuels, decreases hunger, and promotes weight loss. The LiveHealthProtocol recommends abundant quantities of vegetables, and fruits, moderate amounts of protein and healthful fats, and decreased intake of refined grain products, potato and concentrated sugars.
- Milk products (whey protein) have a GI which is low, but have paradoxic high insulinemic index (release high amounts of insulin). Milk products appear insulinotropic as judged from 3-fold to 6-fold higher insulinemic indexes than expected from the corresponding glycemic indexes. So even if you are consuming a low GI milk product, from the insulin standpoint it is a very high load.
- Starchy fruits increase their Glycemic Index depending on ripeness. Green bananas have low GI of 40 but when they are ripen it will raise to 65.
- Glycemic Load [GL] relates the GI to the amount of carbohydrate eaten in a normal serving or in 100 grams. It measures the total amount of carbohydrate, and is decreased by fiber consumption.