Studies have shown that the low glycemic index diet (low GI) can result in weight loss, lower blood sugar levels, and lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. If you want to know all about the low glycemic index diet, read on and find out! everything related to this type of food!
First of all, what is the glycemic index (GI)?
The glycemic index (GI) is a measurement system that ranks foods based on their effect on blood sugar levels. It was created in the early 1980s by Dr. David Jenkins, a Canadian professor.
The rates at which different foods raise blood sugar levels are ranked in comparison to the absorption of 50 grams of pure glucose. Pure glucose is used as a reference food and has a GI value of 100.
Factors that affect the GI of a food
Several factors can influence the GI value of a food or meal, including:
- The type of sugar it contains: There is a misconception that all sugars have a high GI. The GI of sugar ranges from as low as 23 for fructose to 105 for maltose. Therefore, the GI of a food depends in part on the type of sugar it contains.
- The structure of starch: Starch is a carbohydrate comprising two molecules: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is difficult to digest while amylopectin is easily digested. Foods with higher amylose content will have a lower GI.
- How refined is the carbohydrate: Processing methods such as grinding and rolling disrupt amylose and amylopectin molecules, raising the GI. Generally speaking, the more processed a food is, the higher its GI.
- Nutrient composition: Adding protein or fat to a meal can slow digestion and help lower the glycemic response to a meal.
- Cooking method: Preparation and cooking techniques can also affect the GI. Generally, the longer a food is cooked, the faster its sugars are digested and absorbed, increasing the GI.
- Maturity: Unripe fruit contains complex carbohydrates that break down into sugars as the fruit ripens. The riper the fruit, the higher its GI. For example, a green banana has a GI of 30, while an overripe banana has a GI of 48.
Benefits of the low glycemic index diet
Studies have shown that the low GI diet may also have other health benefits:
- Improved Cholesterol Levels: One study showed that low GI diets reduced total cholesterol by 9.6% and LDL (bad) cholesterol by 8.6%. LDL cholesterol is also associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Improve diabetes: Several studies suggest that low GI diets lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. The low GI diet may also improve pregnancy outcomes in women with gestational diabetes, a form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy.
- It can help you lose weight: Some evidence suggests that low GI diets may promote fat loss. However, more research is needed to determine whether low-GI diets are effective for long-term weight loss.
- You can reduce the risk of heart disease: Recent research has strongly associated high GI and GL diets with an increased risk of heart disease.
Foods to Eat on the Low Glycemic Index Diet
You don’t need to count calories or keep track of your protein, fat, or carbohydrates on the low-glycemic diet. Instead, the low glycemic index diet It involves exchanging high GI foods for low GI alternatives. There are many healthy and nutritious foods to choose from. You should build your diet around the following low GI foods:
- Bread: wholemeal, multigrain, rye, sourdough
- breakfast cereals: steel-cut oats, bran flakes
- Fruit: apples, strawberries, apricots, peaches, plums, pears, kiwi, tomatoes and more.
- Vegetables: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, zucchini and more
- Starchy vegetables: sweet potatoes with orange flesh, corn, yams, winter squash
- Legumes: Lentils, Chickpeas, Baked Beans, Butter Beans, Kidney Beans, and more
- pasta and noodles: pasta, soba noodles, noodles, rice noodles
- Rice: basmati, Doongara, long grain, brown
- Grain: quinoa, barley, pearl couscous, buckwheat, freekeh, grits
- Dairy and dairy substitutes: milk, cheese, yogurt, coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk
Foods to Avoid on a Low Glycemic Index Diet
Nothing is strictly prohibited on the low GI diet. However, try to replace these high GI foods with low GI alternatives as much as possible:
- Bread: white bread, bagels, naan, Turkish bread, French baguettes, Lebanese bread
- breakfast cereals: instant oatmeal, most commercial cereals
- starchy vegetables: Désirée and Red Pontiac potato varieties, instant mashed potatoes
- pasta and noodles: corn paste and instant noodles
- RicePairing: Jasmine, Arborio (used in risotto), Calrose, medium grain white
- dairy substitutes: rice milk and oat milk
- Fruit: watermelon
- salty snacks: rice crackers, thinned corn, rice cakes, pretzels, corn chips
- Cakes and other sweets: scones, donuts, muffins, cookies, waffles, cakes.
- Others: candy, licorice, Gatorade
Eight principles of low glycemic index eating
According to Harvard University School of Medicine, there are eight principles for successfully following a low-glycemic index diet:
- Eat plenty of vegetables, beans, and non-starchy fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, and berries. Even tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, and papayas tend to have a lower glycemic index than typical desserts.
- Consume grains in the least processed state possible: “unbroken”, such as whole wheat bread, brown rice and whole barley, millet and whole wheat berries; or traditionally processed, such as stone-ground bread, steel-cut oats, and granola or plain muesli breakfast cereals.
- Limit white potatoes and refined grain products, such as white bread and white pasta, to small side dishes.
- Limit concentrated sweets, including high-calorie foods with a low glycemic index, such as ice cream, to occasional treats. Reduce fruit juice to no more than half a cup a day. Completely eliminate sugary drinks.
- Eat a healthy type of protein, such as beans, fish, or skinless chicken, at most meals.
- Choose foods with healthy fats, such as olive oil, nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans), and avocados, but limit yourself to moderate amounts. Limit saturated fats from dairy and other animal products. Completely eliminate partially hydrogenated fats (trans fats), which are found in fast food and many packaged foods.
- Eat three meals and one or two snacks each day, and don’t skip breakfast.
- Eat slowly and stop when you are full.