What is the LOW GI (Glycemic index) and how to achieve this and a handy food list to use

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 GI stands for Glicemin Index 

This is used to measure how a specific food intake is going to rise your blood sugar levels

The point is that having a low GI or slow release carbs will help to keep this level low and avoid having peaks with your glucose and therefore the hormones produced by the body during a peak of sugar in your blood


The benefits is not a simple weight loss, this plan has a wide range of positve aspects including:

- Lower the cholseterol levels 

- Reducing the risks of heart diseases

- More energy during the day thanks to the slow release of it 

- Reducing the risk of developing Diabetes, or keep that under control if already diagnosed


Anything that has a GI level can be classified in:

LOW GI - under 55

MEDIUM GI -  56-69

HIGH GI - over 70


I will provide a list of food for each of these levels, to have an idea of what to reduce and what to prefer, for any particular ingredient you can also check this trustable source:


https://glycemicindex.com/





Things to consider:

- Food low in carbs will have a low GI level but it doesn't  necessairly mean that is low in calories or fat

- It means that some food high in fat like chocolate for example, they might have a low GI or some other like watermelon will show a high GI but only if eaten in a very large amount 

- Not all  carbs are the same (sugars, starches and fibers) that's why having a handy table with the GI level already calculated for you is the easiest way to check them before doing groceries

- The way of cooking is another factor to consider, usually cooking for a longer time means that is easier to digest therefore quicker to absorb and increase your GI 



NEAR TO ZERO GI FOOD LIST:

- Fish and seafood

- Any other animal product that hasn't been processed 

- Nuts

- Spices 


LOW GI FOOD LIST:

- Bread: wholegrain or rye 

- Legumes

- Rice: brown or long grain or basmati

- Plant based milk: almond or soya

- Pasta wholemeal 

- Hummus 

- Greens like spinach, kale and beet

- Wholemeal tortilla

- Peanut butter with no added sugar

- Bulgur 


MEDIUM LEVEL GI FOOD LIST:

- Swee potatoes

- Melon

- Butternut


HIGH GI FOOD LIST:

- White bread

- Instant noodles

- Rice: Jasmine and Arborio

- Sweets were you can clearly notice that they are high in sugars on the labels 



In conclusion:

This is helpful to have a quick idea on what to choose but the whole diet shouldn't be focusing ONLY on the GI level and need to have a wider view including calories, fat and protein to have a goof start to make healthier choices 

In the end this is not a full meal plan, it's one more tool on your side to give you more knowledge on what to choose 

The GI is useful but the downside is that is not considering the portion of a determinated ingredient and how a mixture of food can change the GI or slow down the peak 


If you want to be more accurate with the portions and found confusing using just the GI level in that case the GL - Glycemic Load might be more useful 

We are going to discuss this further in the next post 


Here some other useful links suitable to a low GI diet:


https://www.safdietitian.com/2020/06/10-cal-fruit-jelly-one-of-snack-lowest.html


https://www.safdietitian.com/2019/12/quinoa-why-to-introduce-this-as-carb.html


https://www.safdietitian.com/2019/12/cauliflower-rice-updated-and-best-way.html



Source: Lowgihealth.au


Comments

  1. Anonymous24/07/2023, 22:32

    now just need some recipes and weekly planner.

    ReplyDelete

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