How foods with low glycemic index help maintain weight and control diabetes

Did you know that eating foods with low glycemic index can keep your blood sugar levels in-check and help your body metabolise fat more effectively? Glycemic Index or GI measures the effect of a specific food on your blood glucose levels after you eat it. Pure glucose, with a GI rating of 100, is used as a standard against which all the foods are measured on the GI Index.

All other foods are measured on a scale of 0 to 100 depending on their effects on blood glucose levels in the body. A low glycemic food ideally has a GI of 50 or less. Wholegrain chapattis or bread, legumes, barley, beans, non-starchy vegetables, apples, pears, citrus fruits, meat, fish and eggs have low GI index.

Nutritionist Prema Kodical lists the health benefits of low GI foods and tells us ways to modify our food choices to make it low in glycemic index.

Health benefits

Low GI foods do not cause blood glucose levels to rise rapidly. Since they do not raise blood sugar levels, less insulin is required to eliminate sugar from the blood. This in turn lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. They also contain fibre that helps reduce cholesterol levels. Because low GI foods offer a high amount of bulk in the form of wholegrains, legumes and vegetables, they fill you up in fewer calories and help you maintain healthy weight. They may also be helpful in preventing colon cancer and breast cancer.

Tips to eat low GI foods

• Eat whole grains and wholegrain flour instead of refined flour likemaida.  Foods such as rolls and ready-to-eat cereals tend to have high GI value. Avoid packaged and processed breakfast cereals like cornflakes or those with added sugar. You can beat diabetes with a wheat, flour and rice-free diet.
• Eat whole fruits instead of having fruit juices. For example, orange has a GI rating of 42 which is low GI while its juice has a rating of 52 which can be considered as moderate GI.
• Starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, corn and beetroot have medium to high GI levels. Therefore opt for non-starchy vegetables with low GI such as spinach, broccoli, peppers, onions and cabbage. Have blended vegetable soups instead of clear soups.
• Include legumes and nuts like dried beans, split peas and lentils. Soy beans have a very low GI value of 18. Other legumes like black beans, kidney beans and white beans also have very low glycemic index.
• Fibre can also better control blood sugar. Add fibre to your diet in the form of flaxseeds, pysillium husk and chia seeds.

By including these foods, you can plan a healthy diet with an overall low glycemic value.