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It’s a good idea to get to know and understand the Glycemic Index, because choosing foods with a low GI rating more often than choosing those with a high GI may help you to:

•  Control your blood glucose levels

•  Control your cholesterol levels

•  Control your appetite

•  Lower your risk of getting heart disease

•  Lower your risk of getting type 2 diabetes

Proponents say eating foods with low glycemic index numbers, such as yogurt and peanuts, help keep glucose and insulin levels in check, reducing disease risk later in life, in addition to helping some people lose weight.

The basics

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.

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).

Good carbs, better carbs

Not all carbohydrates are the same. Highly processed carbohydrates — sugar and white bread, for example — are considered the benchmark against which other foods are measured. Foods that raise blood sugar higher than either of these foods are considered high-glycemic index foods. Those that raise blood sugar less than these two foods are ranked as lower glycemic index foods.

Not only do low GI foods raise your blood glucose more slowly and to a less dramatic peak than higher GI foods, but most low GI foods are all-around healthier choices. Low GI foods are usually lower in calories and fat, while also being high in fiber, nutrients and antioxidants. Choosing low GI foods more often may help you increase levels of HDL (healthy) cholesterol in your blood and might help you control your appetite, as they tend to keep you feeling fuller, longer.

Remember that the Glycemic Index is just one part healthy eating. Don’t forget to:

•  Eat at regular times

•  Choose a variety of foods from all food groups

•  Limit sugar and sweets

•  Reduce the amount of fat you eat

•  Include foods high in fiber

•  Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine

•  Choose heart healthy fats such as canola and olive oil.

LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS

Choose these most often-

Skim milk
Plain Yogurt
Soy beverage
Apple/plum/orange
Sweet potato
Oat bran bread
All-Bran™
Converted or Parboiled rice
Pumpernickel bread
Al dente (firm) pasta
Lentils/kidney/baked beans
Chick peas

MEDIUM GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS

(choose more often)

Banana
Pineapple
Raisins
New potatoes
Oatmeal
Popcorn
Split pea or green pea soup
Brown rice
Couscous
Basmati rice
Shredded wheat cereal
Whole wheat bread
Rye bread

HIGH GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS

(choose less often)

Watermelon
Dried dates
Instant mashed potatoes
Baked white potato
Parsnips
Rutabaga
Instant rice
Corn Flakes
Rice Krispies
Cheerios
Bagel, white
Soda crackers
Jellybeans
French fries

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 was developed in 1981 to help people (especially diabetics and athletes) to maintain stable blood sugar levels.

Invented by David Jenkins and Thomas Wolever of the University of Toronto, this systems classifies carbohydrate-containing foods according to how fast they raise blood-glucose levels inside the body. In simple terms, a food with a higher glycemic value raises blood glucose faster and is less beneficial to blood-sugar control than a food with a lower glycemic index which does not spike your blood-sugar level.

The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of foods on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating.

Individual foods with a high glycemic index release glucose into the bloodstream quickly. This causes blood sugar levels to rise rapidly. Individual foods with a low glycemic index release glucose more steadily over several hours. This helps to keep blood sugar levels relatively calm.

Pure glucose has a ranking of 100 on the glycemic index and all other foods are ranked in relation to glucose.

Foods that rank as “high” on the index include ice cream, croissants, raisins and other dried fruit, bananas, carrots and watermelon. Foods that rank as ” moderate” on the glycemic index (45-60) include most types of pasta, baked beans, green peas, sweet potatoes, orange juice, blueberries and rice. “Low” glycemic index foods (under 45) include beans, cruciferous vegetables and high-fiber, low-sugar cereals, low-fat unsweetened plain yogurt, grapefruit, apples and tomatoes.

It remains a very useful comparative indicator of how quickly foods are absorbed into the bloodstream.

The Glycemic Pyramid

The glycemic index pyramid is a pyramid-shaped guide to eating foods, as determined by their glycemic index. (Eat more of lower GI foods than of high GI foods.) Some people with diabetes use the glycemic index (GI) as a guide in selecting foods — especially carbohydrates — for meal planning. The glycemic index ranks carbohydrate-containing foods based on their effect on blood sugar level. Foods with a high glycemic-index value tend to raise your blood sugar faster and higher than do foods with a lower value. However, low-index foods aren’t necessarily healthier than high-index foods.

7. White bread, rice, potatoes, sweets (cookies and cakes) – eat RARELY

6. Dairy products (1-2 portions daily preferably LOW FAT products)

5. Pure proteins like meat, fish, poultry, eggs (up to 2 portions daily – red meat not more than 1-2 times a day)

4. Nuts, seeds and shell fruits (eat 1-3 times a day), and oils pressed from these (1-2 times a day)

3. Fruit (2-3 times a day)

2. Gross bread, grain, pasta and other low glycemic, amyloid food (3-6 portions daily)

1. Vegetables (5 times a day)

Carb versus Low GI Diet

There is considerable variation in the level of carbs permitted by popular low-carb diet plans. Some, like Atkins Diet, are deliberately ketogenic – they starve the body of carbohydrate in order to force it to burn fat for fuel. For severely overweight or obese patients who prefer high protein eating, this approach might be fine. Even for moderately overweight people, the Atkins ketogenic method can be highly effective in reducing weight in the short term and good for motivation. Other low-carb plans, like the Zone Diet or South Beach, are not ketogenic like Atkins. They permit a wider intake of carbs and may be regarded as healthier.

The low carb diet craze is fuelled by the idea that “all carbs are bad for weight control”. Therefore the less carbs we eat, the better. But this notion is misleading, even dangerous. The truth is, the leanest and longest living people in the industrialized world are the Japanese whose diet is dominated by carbohydrates and is low in fat. High carb foods like grains, rice, and vegetables are daily staples of the Japanese diet, and intake of high protein, high fat animal products is minimal. Yet Japan has one of the lowest rates of obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes in the world. Promoters of the “all carbs are bad for weight loss” viewpoint know this perfectly well – they know the problem lies in high-GI carbohydrates and junk food – but this does not get attention-grabbing headlines.

Eating more low-GI foods and less high-GI food is proving to be a very successful dietary approach. In general, this means reducing our intake of refined carbs and sugary foods, while increasing our intake of healthy carbs from fruits, vegetables and beans. Good quality fats, lean protein and lower-fat dairy foods are also valuable elements in the diet. Of course, regular exercise is also mandatory. Research data from the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study shows that cutting back on refined grains and eating more whole grains in their place improves insulin sensitivity.

The low GI diet approach is not only good for health and weight control, it is also consistent with the fact that food quality is a key factor in human biochemistry.

According to clinical trials, GI diet programs provide an excellent dietary approach for people who want to reduce weight. By advocating the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods with a low GI-value, and the avoidance of refined carbs, GI diet programs provide dieters with the best of all worlds – better blood glucose control and a highly nutritious eating plan. The health advantages of a low GI diet plan are one reason why it has superceded the low carb diet as the most popular and most successful weight loss plan.