The glycemic index (GI) isn’t as important as society thinks, due to the fact that it is only based on the speed at which the carbohydrates in food X ate transformed into glucose by our bodies. They don’t take into account the total number of carbohydrates that that food contains in said ingestion – being this the factor that truly matters – ,while the glycemic load actually does this analysis.

Let us explain why the glycemic index doesn’t really matter. The glycemic index is calculated based on a food by itself, never when it’s eaten in a full meal: Eating a plate of white rice on its own isn’t the same thing as eating a plate of white rice along with meat, some type of fat, etc… Our body won’t separate the rice to one side, meat to the other, etc. It will create a bolus in its totality. Said bolus will be digested in a much more consistent manner than a bolus formed solely by white rice.

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With that being said, if you were to calculate the glycemic index of a meal composed by rice, meat and fat, it would score a high value. It would actually score a low value, low GI, because digestion would be composed of carbohydrates (even though they are relatively simple), protein and fat. Protein and fat are macro nutrients that have a very high molecular constitution, which makes their digestion quite slow when compared to a plate of white rice.

That’s why in flexible dieting we let our clients eat whatever they want as long as they reach their macro and micronutrient goals on a daily basis. They must respect the limits of protein, fats and carbs (also carbohydrates of which fiber), making up a good foundation of food that also contains a good dose of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).