ShareFacebook logo, click to share

What is the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of Keto Chow?

First things first, you need to understand how the Glycemic Index is measured in foods:

GI values of foods must be measured using valid scientific methods. It cannot be guessed by looking at the composition of the food or the nutrition information panel on food packaging.

Following the international standard method, the GI value of a food is determined by feeding 10 or more healthy people a portion of the food containing 50 grams of digestible (available) carbohydrate and then measuring the effect on their blood glucose levels over the next two hours. For each person, the area under their two-hour blood glucose response (glucose AUC) for this food is then measured. On another occasion, the same 10 people consume an equal-carbohydrate portion of the sugar glucose (the reference food) and their two-hour blood glucose response is also measured. A GI value for the test food is then calculated for each person by dividing their glucose AUC for the test food by their glucose AUC for the reference food. The final GI value for the test food is the average GI value for the 10 people.

Foods with a high GI score contain rapidly digested carbohydrate, which produces a large rapid rise and fall in the level of blood glucose. In contrast, foods with a low GI score contain slowly digested carbohydrate, which produces a gradual, relatively low rise in the level of blood glucose.

OK, so we give 10 people a portion of food containing 50g of digestible carbohydrates. Depending on the flavor of Keto Chow, that varies. Let’s use Salted Caramel for the following illustration. Each 44.8g serving of Salted Caramel Keto Chow has 0.50g of non-fiber carbohydrates. That means we would need to give our test subjects exactly 100 servings of Keto Chow to get the 50g. Each of the 10 participants in the study would need to consume 4.480 kg (9.87 pounds) of powder, equaling 11,800 calories, mostly of protein. In a liquid form, mixed with half a stick of butter per serving, you would need the same 100 servings but you would now be consuming 55,000 calories with a volume of 15.6 gallons.

Because our product is designed for a ketogenic diet, the standard method for measuring the Glycemic Index doesn’t actually even work! We would need to give people such an absurdly large quantity of Keto Chow – I’m sure it would be deemed unethical. Calculating the Glycemic Load needs the Glycemic Index. With both figures, it can reasonably be said that they are below the measurable threshold.