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by Behness on July 22nd, 2009

Behness

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Why do complex carbohydrates give a higher GI (ie. wholemeal bread) than simple sugars? This seems counter intuitive to me, as the complex carbohydrates would give a slower release of energy as they need to be broken up.

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  • by helgiheidarsteinarsson on December 26th, 2010

    helgiheidarsteinarsson

    The GI value tells you how much the meal affects your blood sugar. A complex carbohydrate meal, such as oatmeal, can still contain a whole lot of calories if you eat a large portion. The GI effects are small at first, but gradually builds up once it leaves your stomach to be broken down and absorbed by the small intestine. The GI value has therefore a lot to do with portion size as you can see the oatmeal can surpass the sugar in GI value simply because you are eating more of it. The sugar has high GI value per gram but you typically don't see people eat a whole meal consisting only of sugar. If you would like to lower the GI level of a meal, add some fibrous vegetables. Many complex carbohydrates are really lacking in fiber, such as instant oats or quick oats, so the word ''complex'' can be quite deceiving. Keep in mind however that they don't cause spikes in blood sugar, but they sure do raise it just like other carbohydrates so watch out for the total calories.

    Regarding simple sugar such as sucrose (or table sugar) and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), the fructose molecule is more readily converted to fat than glucose (about half of these sugars is fructose and the other half is glucose). If the molecules are converted to fat immediately then they won't raise the blood sugar (explaining why some types of simple sugars don't have a high GI value). Bread and most starches are very high in glucose chains and low in fructose chains. This explains why complex carbohydrates have such a high effect on blood sugar, as they are high in glucose. The best advice would be to not over indulge on anything, because extra calories (no matter what kind) WILL make you fat if you don't burn them.

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