Glycemic Food Tips
Many diabetics are looking for more natural ways to help keep their blood sugar levels under control, and some have discovered the Glycemic Index. The glycemic index is a food chart which rates the affect various foods have on your blood sugar levels. All glycemic index (GI) ratings are computated based on either standard white bread, or straight glucose. Because two methods are used, some GI charts will vary slightly based on which base food item was used for the computation.
photo credit: DeathByBokeh
Using the Glycemic Index, diabetics can get a general idea of how quickly their blood sugar levels might rise after eating certain foods. Anything with a GI rating of 54 or less is considered a low GI food, which means it will raise your blood sugar levels slowly. Very low GI foods have a rating of less than 39, medium GI rated foods range from 55 to 69, high GI foods are at 70 or above.
Glucose and white bread have a base rating of 100 on either type of GI food chart - which is high of course - and all other foods are compared against them.
There are many foods with higher GI ratings, and many with lower ones. But this rating system is where things can get confusing. If you try to eat foods based on their standard GI rating only, then you may find you’re not having much success with controlling your blood sugar levels. You might also feel that some of the ratings make no sense at all. Many people mistakenly assume they’re supposed to avoid everything with a GI rating of 70 or higher, and some even think they’re supposed to avoid any foods which rate higher than 55. What they don’t know is that the base food GI rating can change given different variables. Not all oatmeal is the same for instance. Instant oatmeal has a higher GI rating than old fashioned cooked oats does.
But that’s not the most confusing part… sometimes how you cook your foods will change the GI rating too. Pasta for instance, that’s eaten while still firm has a lower GI rating than fully cooked soft pasta does. And if you boil one inch cubes of potatoes, you’ll have one GI rating, but simply mashing those cubes with your fork will increase the glycemic load of the very same potatoes.
Many fruits have low glycemic loads, but if you cook or chop those fruits, you’re often increasing the glycemic load they’ll produce. And some fruits are naturally high in glycemic load. Watermelon for instance, has a GI rating of 72. So glycemic index charts are simply a starting point to use for controlling your blood sugar levels naturally.
Once you start using the glycemic index to help control your diabetes and blood sugar levels naturally, you’ll start learning which foods tend to be the best choices for your personal body response. There are several commonalities with many foods though, which can help you get started with using the Glycemic Index.
1. High fiber foods.
Foods high in soluble fiber tend to naturally be lower on the glycemic index. This is because fiber isn’t absorbed by our body, and eating foods with fiber in it will help slow the absorption of simple carbohydrates, sugars and starches. This is very helpful to know if you have a few favorite foods which have high GI ratings. By adding some fiber to the meal, you can help reduce the overall impact that higher GI food will have on your blood sugar levels.
2. Protein foods.
Like fiber, foods which are high in protein are quite low on the glycemic index and these can also help slow the absorption of carbohydrates into your system.
3. Acidic foods.
Yes, like both fiber and protein, adding acidic foods to your meal such as lemon juice or vinegar can also help slow the absorption of carbohydrates. Try using vinegar based salad dressings, squeezing some lemon on your chicken or fish, or just mixing up a fresh tall glass of homemade lemonade to go with your meals.
photo credit: Sarah Serendipity
4. Longer cooking foods are often lower on the GI scale.
This is a difficult concept for many people to understand, but essentially any quick cooked or “instant” foods usually have much higher GI ratings than “old fashioned” foods do. This is because manufacturers must strip out most of the bulk from a food in order to make it possible to cook it in a minute or two.
Instant oatmeal for instance, has much less natural fiber and bulk in it. This is how the manufacturer is able to help you cook it so quickly. Natural old fashioned oatmeal however, has much more bulk and natural fiber - not to mention nutrition - because it hasn’t be processed as highly as the instant variety has.
This same concept applies to any quick and easy, or instant foods. Instant potatoes for instance, have a higher glycemic index rating than boiled potatoes do. Easy processed boxed meals will also be more likely to have higher GI ratings than a home cooked meal does. So just by knowing how a food has been cooked can help you eat foods with lower glycemic impact.
5. Raw foods usually have the lowest GI.
Eating fresh salad greens, brocolli, and celery is going to have a much lower glycemic impact on your blood sugar levels that cooking those foods will. Cooking is a form of processing. It’s purpose is to break down foods partially, because they’re considered more palatable. This partial breakdown of the food however, gives your body less work to do in order to use the various parts of that food. So it’s easier for your body to extract the sugars, and thus your blood sugar levels can rise faster if your food has been cooked.
Now, not everything can be eaten raw of course. It’s not likely you’ll find someone who will eat raw oatmeal for instance. But having this general knowledge can help you with managing your blood sugar levels naturally, because it helps you make better eating choices.
