Acidity, Ripeness, Fiber, etc and Effect on Glycemic Response

source: Medicinenet
**
*What Influences the Glycemic Load/Index?*

Many factors help determine your body’s glycemic response to a particular
food, including:

- *Physical form*, such as a whole apple vs. applesauce. Mashing foods
tends to give them a higher glycemic index/load.
- *Ripeness*. The riper the fruit, the higher its glycemic index.
- *Fiber *– particularly viscous fiber, a type of soluble fiber found
in oats, barley, and other foods. Generally, the higher the fiber, the lower
the glycemic index/load.
- *Acidity*. The higher a food’s acidity, the lower its glycemic
index/load.

- *Processing*. The more processed or refined a food, generally, the
higher its glycemic index/load will be. When a grain is in a more "whole"
form, your body’s digestive enzymes have a tougher time breaking it down,
which lowers the glycemic response to it. (There are some notable
exceptions: pasta, and parboiled and basmati rice tend to have lower
glycemic indexes, especially if they’re not overcooked.)
- *Whether protein and fat were eaten with the food*. The presence of
high amounts of protein and fat will decrease the glycemic index/load.

The following foods, even in large amounts, when eaten alone are not likely
to cause a significant rise in blood sugar because they contain little
carbohydrate: meat, poultry, fish, avocados, salad vegetables, eggs, fish,
and cheese.

15 Responses to “Acidity, Ripeness, Fiber, etc and Effect on Glycemic Response”

  1. Kraig Caren Says:

    Yes, it does. It is similar to when you eat a protein (like PB) with a carb
    (like bread) - the combination gives you a lower glycemic load effect.

  2. Neva Marjory Says:

    see i’m in a bad situation. i have interstitial cystitis
    (ichelp.org) and one of the biggest things that cause terrible pain
    in my bladder is acidic food. so from what you said, maybe that’s
    why my sugar is high… for 5 years now i’ve been staying away from
    anything acidic. is anyone else in this same boat as me? also i
    have allergies to some foods that diabetics are told to eat and/or
    they are on the IC list of don’t eat (like nuts). i have been
    eating peanut butter as a source of protein but if i eat too much or
    too often then my bladder gets painful and starts a flare up.

    thanks for all the great info i’m getting from this forum.

  3. beverley90 Says:

    Has anyone here found a problem with Byetta’s function of delaying
    gastric emptying and other medications (diabetes related or not)
    they might take?

    Hi Jennifer:

    I take synthroid which needs to be taken an hour or more before eating at
    five or six am and then go back to bed…I talso take prilosec twice a day
    before breakfast and dinner. I’m still trying to figure ot when it’s best to
    take my vitamins….been doing it with lunch and it’s anybody’s guess if and
    when they get absorbed….:-)

    Suzanne

    Selflessness is the goal , not self-realization.

  4. Lara Evelia Says:

    i have it once in a while. i take antinausea meds for it.

    —– Original Message —–
    From: Jennifer

  5. Neva Marjory Says:

    Hi!
    Yes, I had terrible problems at first - not sounding too graphic -
    the medication ended up passing right through me with the medication
    obviously not being digested!!!! I was taking the generic form of
    Metformin called Fortamet and it wasn’t processing correctly. My
    doctor said that I would have to take the Metformin because of the
    pill consistency - it was the same medication, but it was not made
    the same way (confusing!). Anyway, it seemed to work! I take most
    of my medication before I go to bed. My doctor suggested about 2
    hours after supper. I take Synthroid, as well as Pravachol (sp?) and
    2500 mg. of Metformin (ER). Vitamins seem to pass right through me
    no matter what time of day I take them! Anyone else offer
    suggestions????

    Estelene

  6. beverley90 Says:

    I’m more concerned about the other meds and if their effectiveness
    gets compromised. Or if other troubles crop up. My worry is that I
    have meds that I need to take with meals three times a day (Citric K
    for uric acid).

    Jennifer, check with your doctor but perhaps lunch is the best meal to take
    meds with as it’s furthest away from when you take the Byetta…I’m assuming
    that’s the best time to take my vitamins without interacting with the Byetta.
    I take some supplements that help with arthritis that are important for
    me….

    Suzanne

    Selflessness is the goal , not self-realization.

  7. Leanna Treva Says:

    I take prilosec twice a day before breakfast and dinner. This makes it a bit
    tough with the Byetta since generally I leave for work 6:45 AM, and need to
    have taken my Byetta and eaten breakfast before I go!

    My schedule so far has been to get up about 6 AM, take my Prilosec, go back
    to bed until the alarm goes off at 6:20. Then get up, shower, dress, let the
    dog out, get the dog’s breakfast, make my own breakfast. Then about 6:40 AM
    I inject the Byetta, wolf down breakfast in about 20 seconds flat, and then
    race out the door!

    Not exactly the easiest solution, but I just *cannot* get up any earlier. I
    do love weekends when the schedule can be a little more leisurely. :-)

  8. ramonita_1 Says:

    Hello Jennifer, Could you eat smaller meals 6 or more times a day and
    take the med further away than you take the Byetta?

    I sort of do this as the Byetta lowers my BG for a long period of time
    and when I take the 10 dose I can only tolerate a very small snack meal
    due to nausea.Sometimes just a cracker or so.

    Yes, I know that everyone else takes it before the larger meals of the
    day but if I did this I’d spend A LOT of time in bed.

    Aloha, Marge

  9. beverley90 Says:

    Unfortunately, the med I need to take has to be taken three times a
    day with food… so one with each meal

    Ah, sorry, I missed that….I’m no help :-) I’d check with my doctor….
    Suzanne

  10. beverley90 Says:

    My schedule so far has been to get up about 6 AM, take my Prilosec, go back
    to bed until the alarm goes off at 6:20. Then get up, shower, dress, let the
    dog out, get the dog’s breakfast, make my own breakfast. Then about 6:40 AM
    I inject the Byetta, wolf down breakfast in about 20 seconds flat, and then
    race out the door!

    Not exactly the easiest solution, but I just *cannot* get up any earlier. I
    do love weekends when the schedule can be a little more leisurely. :-)
    Debbie (newbie to both Byetta AND Prilosec)

    Sounds hectic, Debbie…..Most days I can sleep until 8 or so. I’m a night
    owl and work at home a lot of the time.
    I tend to wake up around six and take my Synthroid and the Prilosec and go
    back to bed. Then I take the Prilosec again before dinner. I think the

    Prilosec helps a lot and I’ve not experienced any nausea or digestive problems.
    I
    do get headaches from the BYetta but not so often any more. Good luck with

  11. Kraig Caren Says:

    On 7/13/07, lisette_me wrote:

    << see i’m in a bad situation. i have interstitial cystitis
    (ichelp.org) and one of the biggest things that cause terrible pain
    in my bladder is acidic food. so from what you said, maybe that’s
    why my sugar is high… …… i have been
    eating peanut butter as a source of protein but if i eat too much or
    too often then my bladder gets painful and starts a flare up. >>

    *I don’t think it would cause your sugar to be high - but not being able to
    have it just takes away ONE of your tools to tame it. The peanut butter is
    an excellent choice.*
    **
    *Every day for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack I have a slice of
    Nature’s Own double fiber bread (only 40 calories and 5 g fiber) with 1/2

    TBSP of PB. So, for just under 100 calories each time, I have a snack that
    tides me though to the next meal. I have never had my BG go up more than
    two points after eating it. The fiber in the bread and the fat in the PB
    make it a low glycemic snack.*

  12. Neva Marjory Says:

    New to the list, and haven’t introduced myself yet, but had a comment.
    Suzanne, you should not be taking any other med with the Synthroid.
    I was told that it basically latches on to other meds and keeps them
    from absorbing.

    Stacy

  13. beverley90 Says:

    New to the list, and haven’t introduced myself yet, but had a comment.
    Suzanne, you should not be taking any other med with the Synthroid.
    I was told that it basically latches on to other meds and keeps them
    from absorbing.

    Stacy

    Oh dear! I guess I can take the Prilosec with breakfast and before dinner.
    Things are getting complicated. I also take excedrin for arthritis pain in
    the morning and Advil before bed as well as a diuretic every other day in
    the morning. I feel pretty good in any case and my thyroid tests are always
    normal. Thanks for the heads up and welcome to the list. Suzanne.

  14. witt_1500 Says:

    Unfortunately, the med I need to take has to be taken three times a
    day with food… so one with each meal

    Jennifer

    Could you take it between meals…say two or three hours after a meal, with
    a small snack, or even a glass of milk etc.?
    This is what I’m doing and it seems to work. Although sometimes I’ll
    realize I needed to take them right after I’ve eaten a meal and it’s a looooong
    wait before I can take them because I know the food in my stomach won’t
    digest anytime soon. (Pain meds)
    I also take most of meds at bedtime, since a lot of them make me sleepy
    anyway.
    I take Prilosec about an hour before my morning/evening meal.
    Hope you can find something that works for you. It does take a bit of

    experimenting, doesn’t it?
    Nancy L

  15. Traci Mcgee Says:

    Hello Jennifer, Could you eat smaller meals 6 or more times a day and
    take the med further away than you take the Byetta?

    I sort of do this as the Byetta lowers my BG for a long period of time
    and when I take the 10 dose I can only tolerate a very small snack meal
    due to nausea.Sometimes just a cracker or so.

    Yes, I know that everyone else takes it before the larger meals of the
    day but if I did this I’d spend A LOT of time in bed.

    Aloha, Marge

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