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According to several human studies, benefits of eating a low GI diet range from controlling hunger pangs to keeping insulin levels in check.

If it is your goal to try and incorporate the GI with a low calorie diet plan, then you should try to choose low and medium Glycemic Index foods more often than high GI foods. A GI of 55 or less ranks as low, a GI of 56 to 69 is medium, and a GI of 70 or more ranks as high.

Here are some tips to help you lower the Glycemic Index of your daily meals:

• Base your food choices primarily on overall nutrition – including vitamins, minerals and fibre.. Don’t dismiss healthy foods such as white potatoes just because they have a high GI. Their other nutritional benefits make them good choices.

• Try to choose at least one low GI food at each meal.

• If you choose a high GI food, combine it with a low GI food, for an overall medium GI meal. For example, half a bagel (high GI) with a bowl of chili (low GI) , or corn flakes cereal (high GI) topped with a spoonful of All Bran (low GI) and some strawberries (low GI).

• Limit the amount of processed, refined starchy foods, as they tend to be low in fibre and other nutrients and have a higher GI.

• Try new foods that have a low GI. Experiment with beans, legumes and lentils by including them in dishes such as chili, soups and salads.

• Eat whole grain, pumpernickel and oat bran bread more often than white bread.

• Eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables have a low GI, so they break down into sugar slowly in your body.

• Choose parboiled, brown or white rice more often than instant rice.

• Eat pasta, rice, yams, lima beans or baked potatoes more often than mashed, boiled or instant potatoes. Eating potatoes cold, as in a salad, reduces their GI (but go easy on the mayo dressing).

• Use vinaigrette instead of a creamy salad dressing. It’s lower in fat, plus the acidity of the vinegar slows digestion, lowering the meal’s GI.

• Watch your portion sizes; the bigger the portion, the more it will increase your blood glucose, regardless of its GI rank.

The Glycemic Index is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels compared to glucose or white bread.

Foods that raise your blood glucose level quickly have a higher GI rating than foods that raise your blood glucose level more slowly. In general, the lower the rating, the better the quality of carbohydrate.

When you eat food that contains carbohydrates, the sugar (glucose) from the food breaks down during digestion and gives you energy. After you eat, your blood glucose level rises; the speed at which the food is able to increase your blood glucose level is called the “glycemic response.” This glycemic response is influenced by many factors, including how much food you eat, how much the food is processed or even how the food is prepared (for example, pasta that is cooked al dente – or firm – has a lower glycemic response than pasta that is overcooked).