Glycemic index quest

eatrainsmile

Sorry. The topic was supposed to be Glycemic index question. It was a mistake and I cant delete the post.

Anyone knows how to lower glycemic index of high glycemic index foods such as white potatoes?
I heard that boiling them lowers the GI.Any idea?

Cr01502

You can eat them with protein (i.e. a little tuna or chicken) and it will lessen the glycemic load of your meal. Also adding them with a salad or other healthy fibres and fats will do the same thing. Other than that cooking the potatoes slightly al dente will affect the starch gelatinisation and slow down digestion.

BeautyFromPain

Swap them for sweet potatoes?

eatrainsmile

This is a great idea but I cant find sweet potatoes where I live.

BelindaDuvessa

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

This lets you search for foods items (since you can't find some foods where you live) and see what their GI is. The lower the GI, the better. I also have a book at home which has alot of low GI foods in it. I can't remember the name of it, though.

But as far as lowering the specific GI of potatoes, no. But maybe this will help you along the way?

BeautyFromPain

This is a great idea but I cant find sweet potatoes where I live.

Really? Where do you live? :huh:

eatrainsmile

Have you ever heard that eating them cold has a lower impact on blood sugar? Or adding vinegar?
I am reactive hypoglycemic and I cant handle potatoes and most fruit. I dont want to feel sleepy after eating them. I am looking for a way to be able to eat my sweet carbs.

sarahcuddle

I know that new potatoes have a lower glycaemic index than old ones. Any potatoes boiled are better than baked in the oven since less of the starch is converted to sugar. Including protein and vegetables or salad with your meal will reduce the overall glycaemic load.

BelindaDuvessa

Have you ever heard that eating them cold has a lower impact on blood sugar? Or adding vinegar?
I am reactive hypoglycemic and I cant handle potatoes and most fruit. I dont want to feel sleepy after eating them. I am looking for a way to be able to eat my sweet carbs.

I've heard of the vinegar, for sure. When I first lost the weight, 2 years ago, I loosely based my diet off the GI recommendations. But I haven't followed that for a while, so alot of it I can't remember.

Cr01502

Have you ever heard that eating them cold has a lower impact on blood sugar? Or adding vinegar?
I am reactive hypoglycemic and I cant handle potatoes and most fruit. I dont want to feel sleepy after eating them. I am looking for a way to be able to eat my sweet carbs.

I have heard of the vinegar. Whether it's true or not I really couldn't say. I don't think temperature would have any effect on GI just the degree to which you cook them.

Jester522

You can eat them with protein (i.e. a little tuna or chicken) and it will lessen the glycemic load of your meal. Also adding them with a salad or other healthy fibres and fats will do the same thing. Other than that cooking the potatoes slightly al dente will affect the starch gelatinisation and slow down digestion.

Careful here. Carbohydrates and protein are both insulinogenic. By combining proteins and carbs in one meal you RAISE the concentration of insulin released into the blood stream.

Cooking potatoes and the such "al dente" or less then fully will decrease the GI as they're not fully cooked. Ultimately stick with yems, sweet potatos, red potatos, yuca, steel cut oats. To "lower the GI" of a meal add fibrous green vegetables such as broccoli, string beans, cauliflower, spinach - these items have their carbs as cellulose which is metabolically inert to humans and we derive no nutrition from cellulose. Cellulose, not protein, creates a buffer.

In addition, do not rely on fats to lower the GI - fats create slower bolus of entry and instead of a steady stream of nutrients they make the meal hit the system all at once. Try to avoid combining fats and carbs in the same meal or minimal fats with carbs.

zlatkovwechanged

Glycemic index is important, but glycemic load is more accurate info. Glycemic load shows not only how high or low the index is, but also how much carbs are in the food. White potatoes may have high glycemic index, but the load itself is very low. I know that from experience since my son is a diabetic type 1, and I know that white (boiled)potatoes are very good in his food regime. Also, boiling potatoes add some water to the food, hence, gaining some mass to the food, unlike french fries which substract water from the potatoes which in turn, you have to eat more french fries than boiled potatoes to make you feel full. In numbers, boiled potatoes (100 gr) has 19 grams of carbs, french fries (100 gr) has 34 grams of carbs. Try to google the term glycemic load. Boiled potatoes are good choice.

eatrainsmile

@Jester

Oh my gosh! You make a lot of sense. I have tried to combine protein and carbs or carbs with fat all the time, I used to think it slows down the digestion of carbs and I was having really bad crashes. This is great info! Thank you!

robert65ferguson

As with so many issues there is a wide diversity of opinion in relation to your question. Without knowing the background of the various contirbutors its difficult to exercise discernment with the result that we can begin to suffer from information overload. My understanding is that rather than reducing the GI of the potatoes, eating protein in the ratio of 2 parts carb to one part protein will reduce the rate at which the carbs are absorbed and so reduce the glucose spike effect, which is what you are trying to achieve. The principle is explained in an informative book 'The Insulin Resistance Diet'. I hope this helps.

yarwell

Anyone knows how to lower glycemic index of high glycemic index foods such as white potatoes

Not sure why you're eating them, but http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21338539 says...

"The 2 h glycaemic responses to six mashed potato-containing meals varied more than twofold. The glycaemic index (GI) of pure mashed potato was 108, whereas combined with chicken breast, rapeseed oil and salad, it was only 54. "

yarwell

My understanding is that rather than reducing the GI of the potatoes, eating protein in the ratio of 2 parts carb to one part protein will reduce the rate at which the carbs are absorbed and so reduce the glucose spike effect

In other words the GI of a mixed meal can be a lot lower than the GI of an individual component.

Hendrix7

The demonisation of the white potato in fitness circles is rather amusing to me.

nxd10

Boiling potatoes longer and changing water lowers potassium. That's what you do if you have kidney problems. It also removes starch, which is what ups blood sugar.

mmapags

Why would you want to do this? What are you trying to accomplish?

eatrainsmile

Why would you want to do this? What are you trying to accomplish?

I guess i explained why I would like to do this.

I am reactive hypoglycemic and I cant handle potatoes and most fruit. I dont want to feel sleepy after eating them. I am looking for a way to be able to eat my sweet carbs.

zaph0d

try worrying about something actually relevant

eatrainsmile

try worrying about something actually relevant

Isnt it relevant? You think so?

mmapags

Why would you want to do this? What are you trying to accomplish?

I guess i explained why I would like to do this.

I am reactive hypoglycemic and I cant handle potatoes and most fruit. I dont want to feel sleepy after eating them. I am looking for a way to be able to eat my sweet carbs.

My apologies. I missed that. That being said, I don't know that there is any effective way to change the glycemic index of an individual food to any significant degree. The foods are composed of what they are. I understand your desire to do this but avoiding them may be your best, albeit not your happiest, option.

llkilgore

The demonisation of the white potato in fitness circles is rather amusing to me.

I love baked russet potatoes and don't believe there's anything evil about them, but they DO have a tendency to give me a bad case of the munchies. Sweet potatoes don't. Bread, pasta, and rice usually don't. Russet potatoes often do. If you're amused by that then count yourself lucky.

I still eat them occasionally, though, usually for lunch rather than dinner. I've always been most vulnerable to out-of-control snacking in the evening and need to be more careful then. Red potatoes and new potatoes aren't as problematic. A favorite when I can get them are red new potatoes cooked with fresh green beans. Yum.

spiregrain

I'm also a reactive hypoglycemic. My hypo crash reaction after eating these starchy/sweet foods is extreme enough that I am unsafe to drive a car. Cut the girl some slack! Potatoes and fruit are yummy. We have a health problem that makes them an issue. We're not fad dieters, we're people experiencing a symptom.

OP, I eat an isocaloric diet (and almost always undershoot my carbs) and I only use agave nectar to sweeten. I also eat 5 meals a day (4 small, 1 larger dinner). This strategy does not do much for my "diet" but helps incredibly with my RH. Then I am able to follow a calorie cutting nutritional plan more effectively.

I have a cookbook called "Appetite for Reduction" which is a low calorie vegan cookbook and the recipes are really great -- various carby-tasting things that I can get away with eating a bit of without a problem.

Anyway -- as time goes on, it seems to get less problematic.

zaph0d

try worrying about something actually relevant

Isnt it relevant? You think so?

Forgive me. I missed the bit about your being hypoglycemic. :flowerforyou:
Way too much "white carb hate" going around these parts has me on edge..

eatrainsmile

Thank you all for sharing your ideas with me and I accept all apologies from who missed the hypoglycemia part. Being a hypoglycemic is really difficult. Most people dont understand why you avoid certain foods. It would be easier to tell people you are diabetic than you are hypoglycemic. To most people it's difficult to understand what you go through after eating some dried fruit or a piece of cake. I dont miss cakes or cookies but I really miss fruit and potatoes so badly. I occasionaly eat them though. Whole wheat doesnt cause me crash but white potatoes do. When I didnt know I was hypoglycemic, I used to go out to lunch with colleagues and eat some pizza, then in the afternoon I could barely keep my eyes open at work, I was feeling like a sleepwalker all day long. I guess I need to try each of your advices and watch how my body reacts so that I'll find the answer. Thanks guys!

sarahcuddle

There's a book you might find useful called The glycaemic load diet for dummies (Not that i'm suggesting you are a dummy of course!) but it has some good tips for reducing the overall glycaemic load of your meals rather than Gi which can be just confusing. I got it from the library