Pasta has a glycemic index of 50 while white flour has a glycemic index of 85. What causes this massive difference? Also is glycemic index of pasta measured at Al Dente? And if so how much of a increase is expected by cooking significnatly longer then that?
In: 13
Pasta isn’t made from white flour, it’s made from Semolina flour.
Semolina Flour contains more protein and less starch. You also add a significant amount of water when you cook it.
The glycemic index of pasta is going to vary with the type of flour and other ingredients you add (such as egg) as well as the shape and size of the pasta. However, the ones that have the lowest GI tend to be made from durum wheat flour. According to the below article, the starch and proteins in the durum wheat flour form a gluten structure which is harder to break down than other wheat and white flour food products – which leads to the lower GI.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8623826/
The biggest question is why you’re concerned with the glycemic index in the first place. It’s entirely useless unless you’re diabetic.
Pasta isn’t one thing. White flour spaghetti has a glycemic index close to 100 sometimes. There’s a huge range depending on the ingredients and the type /shape and other ingredients
Alright, kiddo! Think of pasta like a tightly packed toy box. Even though pasta is made from flour, the type of flour used, like durum wheat, makes the pasta really packed together. This makes it harder for our tummies to unpack the toys (or break down the pasta). Because of this, pasta releases its energy slowly, which means it has a low glycemic index (GI). So, pasta is like a toy box that takes longer to unpack, and that’s a good thing for our bodies!
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