Glycemic Index Research Paper 2022

Running Head: GLYCEMIC INDEX
GLYCEMIC INDEX
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

GLYCEMIC INDEX1
Introduction
Glycemic Index (GI) is a ranking system of food that contains carbohydrate, and it is
rated according to how they affect the blood glucose levels. GI is also a measure to determine the
postprandial of glucose levels as it was firstly proposed by Jenkin for the assistance of diabetic
patients so that they can make appropriate food choices. Jenkin’s theory states that the glycemic
index is a concept of the extension of fibre hypothesis, which means that consuming fibre
decreases the rate of nutrient influx in the gut. It is seen that carbohydrates with a low glycemic
index are digested, absorbed, and metabolized more slowly, which causes a slower and lower
rise in the blood glucose, including insulin levels. Therefore, it is the reason for several chronic
lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity. In most of the countries,
due to the unhealthy dietary habits containing higher amounts of carbohydrate has led to the
higher glycemic index (Augustin et al., 2015). The variability of GI depends on the individual’s
dependency on insulin. Digestion in the body is affected by the type of carbohydrate, amount of
protein in the food, acid concentrations in the stomach, percentage of water in the food, the
consumption of soluble and insoluble fibres including the delay in the metabolism of
carbohydrate in the body (Shklover, Levy-Adam & Kurant, 2015). Different methods to measure
GI is in vitro and human subjects as they can clearly show how fast carbohydrate is breaking
down into sugars. These methods have changed because nutritional science is advancing, and
researchers are coming up with more methods such as the C Elegan model due to its accuracy.
The approach for optimization should be C Elegan model. The optimization of the method for
the determination of glycemic index in C. Elegans is done to analyze the effects of glucose by
using the C elegan model (Fontana & Partridge, 2015). The roundworms are fed specific starches
to find out the measurement of GI. C. Elegan model is a model organism that is used in

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biological researches and laboratory testing because the biological functioning in these
organisms is similar to humans. The errors could be avoided in this experiment by maintaining
accuracy in following the timings during the experiment. The caution with GI is that high rate of
this substance can be harmful diabetic patients, so it is a concern to take low GI diet.
Caenorhabditis elegans is an organism that is under the category of a nematode, and it is a
roundworm. It is used for genetic analysis due to its great potential because it has a 3-day life
cycle, is small in size and is easy to cultivate in a laboratory. The hypothesis for this paper will
be how C Elegan model is used for identifying the benefits of the Glycemic Index for diabetic
patients.
This research paper aims to find the benefits of glycemic index in relation to diabetes with the
help of C. Elegan models.
Literature Review
Glycemic Index is one of the essential parameters for patients with diabetes as it helps in
choosing the food that is suitable for them and they can consume without suffering from any
complication in regards to the rise in the glucose levels. A diet that is low in glycemic index has
preventive factors against diabetes as it helps in reducing the content of blood glucose levels.
Few food products have low glycemic index such as oatmeal, stone-ground whole wheat, pasta,
sweet potato and most of the fruits that do not consist of starch. The different foods are rated
according to the effect it has on the blood sugar, and that shows the glycemic index of the food.
Food low in glycemic index has several positive factors that help in losing weight, maintaining
blood glucose and decreases the chances of cardiovascular diseases due to moderate blood sugar
(Mirahimmi et al., 2014). There are 3 ratings for glycemic index, which indicates that the low GI
food is 55 or below, medium GI index is 56-69 and high is more than 70 (Leung, Huggins &

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Bonham, 2019). High GI food should be avoided by diabetes patients or people who are
borderline diabetic as they digest easily in the system and causes the sudden rise of glucose in
the blood. Certain factors affect the GI of food such as the type of starch, structure of starch, the
processing of the starch, nutrient composition, cooking method and ripeness (Bell et al., 2015).
The type of sugar signifies that the glycemic index of sugar has a range of 19 for fructose (low)
and 105 for maltose (high), which shows that not all sugars are high in glycemic index. The
structure of the starch is another factor in influencing the glycemic index of food as starches are
made of two molecules known as amylopectin and amylose. Amylopectin is easily digested, but
amylose is not easily digested, and it suggests that starch with a higher amylose content will be
low in glycemic index. The process used for refining and the amount it is refined too, also
suggest the glycemic index of the food. The more starch is processed, higher will be the rate of
glycemic index because the grinding process disrupts the amylopectin and amylose molecule
(Alcantar-Fernandez et al., 2018). The nutrient composition is another factor that changes the
glycemic index, such as the amount of acid and fat in food affects the digestion by slowing the
process that results in the low rate of GI. The method of cooking is another reason that increases
or decreases the glycemic index because when food is cooked for a longer period, the sugar gets
digested and absorbed quickly that raises the glycemic index. The ripeness of food also changes
the glycemic index in fruits because the fruits that are not ripe contains more complex
carbohydrates that are broken down when the sugar is ripening. It is seen that an unripe banana
has a lower count of GI, but an overripe one has more GI (Kouame et al., 2017). The sugar that
raises the blood glucose depends on three factors such as the type of carbohydrate it has, the
amount eaten and the nutrient composition. Polyphenols are micronutrients that are found in
plant sources, and it consists of antioxidants and health benefits. It is suggested that it can