A Simple Guide To Use The Glycemic Index For Diabetes-Friendly Eating

Glycaemic Index (GI) is a specific value that is used to measure how much certain foods can increase blood glucose levels.

GI compares carbs gram for gram in individual foods, thus providing a numerical, evidence-based index of post-meal glycemia.

Foods are categorised as low-, medium-, or high-glycaemic foods and eventually ranked on a scale of 0-100. The lower the GI of a certain food, the lesser will be the impact on your blood glucose levels.

Mentioned below are three primary GI ratings:

Low: 55 or lower
Medium: 56-69
High: 70 and above

Foods that are high in refined carbohydrates and sugar are eventually digested at a quicker pace and generally have a higher GI, whereas foods that are rich in protein, fibre, or fat typically possess a lower GI. Certain food items that contain no carbohydrates are not assigned a GI value. These foods include meat, poultry, fish, seeds, nuts, oils, spices, and herbs.

Other diverse factors that affect the GI of a food item include the cooking method, the degree of ripeness, the types of sugar it contains, and the total amount of processing that it has undergone.

GI can not only help in increasing your awareness of what you are putting on your plate, but can also help in enhancing weight loss, causing a decrease in blood glucose levels, and reducing cholesterol levels.

How To Use GI For Diabetes-Friendly Eating

Give a try to the following meal planning ideas to successfully lower the GI of your entire meal.

Cook your pasta in a firm or al dente style so that your body needs to work much more in digesting and absorbing nutrients. Because al dente pasta needs more work from your body during the process of digestion, the rate of digestion is slower and, hence, GI is lower.
Include plenty of fruits and milk in your meals. These foods have a low GI value and can be used to prepare a healthy dessert.
Give a try to low-GI grains such as bulgur, barley, and a wide range of pulses, such as lentils, beans, and chickpeas. To begin, swap half of your high-GI grains/starch food servings with pulses. For instance, instead of consuming one cup of cooked, short-grain rice, opt for ½ a cup of cooked rice in combination with ½ a cup of black beans.
Using GI to choose foods is only a single aspect of healthy eating because healthy eating additionally means choosing a wide range of foods, consuming moderate food portion sizes, and selecting whole foods instead of those that are processed.
Checking your blood sugar level before food consumption and after 2 hours of eating a meal is the most optimum way to know how your body digests specific foods and drinks.

Meal Planning With GI

While choosing meals, it is a clever idea to keep the following pointers in mind:

Portion size matters because number of calories still matter, and so does the amount of carbs. You need to keep a close watch on portion size as well as number of carbohydrates in the meal you are consuming, even if it has a low GI value.
Generally, processed foods possess a higher GI. For instance, instant potatoes and fruit juice have a higher GI value in comparison with whole-baked potatoes and whole fruit.
Foods that are a rich source of fibre or fats tend to have a lower GI.
Some fruits from the same class of foods may have different GI values. For instance, converted, long-grain white rice has a lower GI value in comparison with brown rice. That said, short-grain white rice has a higher GI value in comparison with brown rice.
You need to choose a wide range of healthy foods, considering the nutritional value of the entire meal as well as the GI value of each food.
Certain high GI foods are rich in nutrients. Hence, there is a need to balance these with foods that have lower GI values.

On A Final Note

For many individuals with diabetes, carbohydrate counting (or carb counting) helps in limiting the intake of carbohydrates to a healthy level. Carb counting and choosing healthy foods to maintain a healthy weight can help in managing diabetes to a great extent. However, if you have trouble in controlling your blood sugar levels or wish to have a tighter control, you must speak to your healthcare provider about the use of GI as an integral part of your action plan.