Low glycemic recipes are ever a lot more well-known these days due to the continued epidemic of obesity around the world, particularly in the United States. That’s simply because low glycemic foods do not affect blood sugar levels as wildly as higher glycemic meals so, and so do not elevate insulin levels, which in turn encourages the human body to store a lot more fat. low glycemic foods also give individuals that drowsy after-dinner feeling, which is particularly 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 does not have a lower glycemic index than white rice). Appropriate low glycemic recipes should also encourage appropriate cooking techniques. Cooking the low glycemic way means not overcooking rice, as an example, 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’s undergone to the age of the particular food and its specific nutritional profile. But the nature of the meal itself is the primary factor, in particular its amount of amylose. Amylose is 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 is all much more complicated than this introduction can even begin to cover. For example, did you know that the same person could have different blood sugar responses to the same meal on different days? Interested readers are urged to do significantly more research, including consultations with the relevant licensed and/or otherwise qualified professionals!