Low glycemic recipes are ever much more popular these days due to the continued epidemic of obesity around the world, particularly within the United States. That’s because low glycemic meals do not affect blood sugar levels as wildly as high glycemic foods so, and so don’t elevate insulin levels, which in turn encourages the human body to store a lot more fat. low glycemic meals also give people that drowsy after-dinner feeling, which is especially inconvenient after lunch when you have to get back to work!
As can well be imagined, a low glycemic recipe revolves around low glycemic foods. Such foods include those with complex carbohyrdates like rye and whole wheat breads, and, interestingly, pasta – but not rice, neither brown nor white (contrary to popular belief, brown rice doesn’t have a lower glycemic index than white rice). Proper low glycemic recipes should also encourage proper cooking techniques. Cooking the low glycemic way means not overcooking rice, for instance, which would lead to an even higher glycemic response in blood sugar levels!
Indeed, there are many variables that determine the glycemic index, from the time of harvest and any processing it has undergone to the age of the specific food and its particular nutritional profile. But the nature of the food itself is the main factor, in particular its amount of amylose. Amylose is really a plant sugar and as such is harder for the human digestive system to handle, resulting in slower digestion that does not flood the bloodstream, causing an insulin spike. Foods high in amylose are foods low on the glycemic index!
But it’s all much more complicated than this introduction can even begin to cover. For instance, did you know that the same individual could have various blood sugar responses to the same food on different days? Interested readers are urged to do a lot more research, including consultations with the relevant licensed and/or otherwise qualified professionals!