In regards to Glycemic Index

[Brian5225]

I was under the assumption for the longest time since I've been lifting that fruits have high levels of sugar and are used quite quickly in the body. But after reviewing the glycemic index, it shows that apples actually have a level of a good ten points lower than oat bran. Anyone care to comment?

[Rodja]

There is a lot of variance in the GI of fruits, but they should be included in everyones diet. There are a myriad of reasons why this is, so I will just say that they are yummy.

[Nitrox]

It is because there is more than one type of sugar and some are lower on the GI than others. In fact, most natural complex carbs (ie starches) are higher GI than fruit sugar (fructose).

You can thank the usual incomplete mainstream nutrition information for the confusion.

[Brian5225]

Ah. Gotcha. Most of their knowledge is either skewed or incomplete on things like steroids so I shouldn't be surprised if something as simple as diet seemed to slip under their radar as well lol.

[Force of Green]

The GI is pretty much of no use anymore. Lookup the glycemic load of the food of study and you'll notice a much different value. Take into consideration the water content of the food, the fiber content, and maybe other factors. Some foods require a lot of energy to assimilate the nutrients and some complex carbs require a lot of energy to break them down into useable, simpler carbs.

[Force of Green]

Take into consideration 'food combining' as well, which shouldn't be followed verbatim (unless you want to live a neurotic life). Different competing enzymes change the rate of digestion for certain other macronutrients and when combining certain types of macros with others, one can potentially negate digestion altogether.

[Nitrox]

The GI is pretty much of no use anymore. Lookup the glycemic load of the food of study and you'll notice a much different value. Take into consideration the water content of the food, the fiber content, and maybe other factors. Some foods require a lot of energy to assimilate the nutrients and some complex carbs require a lot of energy to break them down into useable, simpler carbs.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the GI is of no use, just limited use. It is just another tool that one can use for making food selections but it should hardly be the only parameter. Ironically if you eat a balanced, whole food diet, at an appropriate calorie level the GI's usefulness DOES approach zero IMO.