The Glycemic Index – A complete guide to the GI diet and its effects

What is the Glycemic Index?

Not all carbohydrate foods are designed to have the same effect on your body in fact they behave quite differently dependent on their content and ingredients. The glycemic index (or GI as it is more commonly referred to) describes this difference in this effect on the body by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI products like Promax is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight loss. Low GI carbohydrates are the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels, which help long term regulation of the body’s natural processes and keeps your energy levels balanced, helping you feel fuller for longer.

What are the Benefits of the Glycemic Index (GI)?

Eating a lot of high GI foods can be detrimental to your health because it pushes your body to extremes and causes variations in your regular processes. By eating predominantly low GI carbohydrates that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream like those found in all Maximuscle products, it help to regulate your blood sugar levels, helps to keep your energy levels balanced, and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals. Combining this with low glycemic sports nutrition like the entire Maximuscle range will support your training needs will ensure you reach your optimum fast!

The main benefits of a low GI diet

Low GI diets help you lose and manage your weight through appetite control
Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
Low GI carbs improve diabetes management by regulating blood sugar levels
Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease by minimising the excesses placed on the body
Low GI can improve blood cholesterol levels
Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer

Is a high GI carb diet a bad thing?

The short answer is not always! High GI carbs help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise However some people will also require a high GI carb diet as well. These high GI carb diets are used by serious athletes to restore the depleted carbohydrate stores noticed after intense exercise. Carbohydrate is the main source of energy for the muscles, so naturally the harder you exert these, the greater the requirement for reloading afterwards. As a general rule, high GI diets would only be advised under a specific and strict training regime.

How to Switch to a Low GI Diet

The key to switching from one routine to another is initially motivation. You have to want to do the switch and commit to it before it is likely that such a move will become part of your lifestyle. The easiest way to switch to a mainly low GI diet is simply to swap high GI carbs for low GI carbs. It sounds simple right? You don't need to count numbers or do any sort of mental arithmetic to make sure you are eating a healthy, low GI diet, but you do have to be aware of what you are fuelling your body with.

Types of low GI diet foods to help you switch your diet

Breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran are rich in low GI carbohydrate, and a great alternative to toast and sweetener enriched cereals.
Use breads with whole grains, stone-ground flour and sour dough instead of traditional bread to reduce your GI carb load
Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat, as these are high in GI carbs and starch
Eat lots of fruit, salad and vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing
Use Basmati or Doongara rice as traditional rice is again like potatoes very high in GI carbs and starch
Eat foods like wholegrain pasta, noodles and quinoa

In summary, switching to a lower glycemic index diet offers a multitude of benefits ranging from better regulation of your blood glucose levels, to aiding your weight loss goals through appetite suppression and maximising your energy output. Unfortunately to switch to a better perceived low GI diet is neither simple nor instant, and its effects take time to have an effect so you have to stick with it. As with many of the latest trends, low GI does have some inherent benefits to its nature, but is not always practical or guaranteed to get the results you want, and should be viewed as part of a healthy lifestyle, not the ‘solution’.

Just as important in the process is fuelling your body with the right supporting nutrition and combining it with regular exercise activity to form the complete picture.

How Maximuscle products can support a low GI diet plan.

All Maximuscle whey protein products not only support your training needs in the most efficient way possible, but they are also designed to be low GI to support your dietary needs as well. All of the products are fully tested and safe, as well as being incredibly effective and designed to work fast. With the UK's best selling and research proven all in one muscle-growth range in Cyclone, and the UK's Number 1 selling Protein range in Promax, Maximuscle offers many award winning products, as well as expert information and advice on everything from training tips to dietary advice and how to get the very best out of your training.