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Glycemic Index: What It Is and How to Use It

The glycemic index is a tool that’s often used to promote better blood sugar management.

Several factors influence the glycemic index of a food, including its nutrient composition, cooking method, ripeness, and the amount of processing it has undergone.

The glycemic index can not only help increase your awareness of what you’re putting on your plate but also enhance weight loss, decrease your blood sugar levels, and reduce your cholesterol.

This article takes a closer look at the glycemic index, including what it is, how it can affect your health, and how to use it.

Oatmeal bowls with apples and blueberries

What is the glycemic index?

The glycemic index (GI) is a value used to measure how much specific foods increase blood sugar levels.

Foods are classified as low, medium, or high glycemic foods and ranked on a scale of 0–100.

The lower the GI of a specific food, the less it may affect your blood sugar levels (1Trusted Source).

Here are the three GI ratings:

  • Low: 55 or less
  • Medium: 56–69
  • High: 70 or above

Foods high in refined carbs and sugar are digested more quickly and often have a high GI, while foods high in protein, fat, or fiber typically have a low GI. Foods that contain no carbs are not assigned a GI and include meat, fish, poultry, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, and oils.

Other factors that affect the GI of a food include the ripeness, cooking method, type of sugar it contains, and amount of processing it has undergone (2Trusted Source).

Keep in mind that the glycemic index is different from the glycemic load (GL).

Unlike the GI, which doesn’t take into account the amount of food eaten, the GL factors in the number of carbs in a serving of a food to determine how it may affect blood sugar levels (1Trusted Source).

For this reason, it’s important to take both the glycemic index and glycemic load into consideration when selecting foods to help support healthy blood sugar levels (1Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

The glycemic index is used to measure how much a specific food increases your blood sugar levels. The higher the GI, the greater the effect on blood sugar levels.

Low glycemic diet

The low glycemic diet involves swapping out foods with a high GI for those with a lower GI.

Benefits

Following a low glycemic diet may offer several health benefits, including:

  • Improved blood sugar regulation. Many studies have found that following a low GI diet may reduce blood sugar levels and improve blood sugar management in people with type 2 diabetes (3Trusted Source4Trusted Source).
  • Increased weight loss. Some research shows that following a low GI diet may increase short-term weight loss. More studies are needed to determine how it affects long-term weight management (5Trusted Source6Trusted Source7Trusted Source).
  • Reduced cholesterol levels. Following a low GI diet may help lower levels of both total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, both of which are risk factors for heart disease (8Trusted Source9Trusted Source).

How to follow

A healthy, low glycemic diet should comprise mostly low GI foods, such as:

  • Fruits: apples, berries, oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit
  • Non-starchy vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, tomatoes
  • Whole grains: quinoa, couscous, barley, buckwheat, farro, oats
  • Legumes: lentils, black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans

Foods without a GI value or with a very low GI can also be enjoyed as part of a balanced low glycemic diet. They include:

  • Meat: beef, bison, lamb, pork
  • Seafood: tuna, salmon, shrimp, mackerel, anchovies, sardines
  • Poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, goose
  • Oils: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, vegetable oil
  • Nuts: almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pistachios
  • Seeds: chia seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds
  • Herbs and spices: turmeric, black pepper, cumin, dill, basil, rosemary, cinnamon

Although no foods are strictly off-limits on the diet, foods with a high GI should be limited.

Foods with a high GI include:

  • Bread: white bread, bagels, naan, pita bread
  • Rice: white rice, jasmine rice, arborio rice
  • Cereals: instant oats, breakfast cereals
  • Pasta and noodles: lasagna, spaghetti, ravioli, macaroni, fettuccine
  • Starchy vegetables: mashed potatoes, potatoes, french fries
  • Baked goods: cake, doughnuts, cookies, croissants, muffins
  • Snacks: chocolate, crackers, microwave popcorn, chips, pretzels
  • Sugar-sweetened beverages: soda, fruit juice, sports drinks

Ideally, try to replace these foods with foods that have a lower GI whenever possible.

SUMMARY

Following a low glycemic diet involves swapping out foods that have a high GI with low GI alternatives. A low glycemic diet may help manage blood sugar levels, reduce your cholesterol, and boost short-term weight loss.

TO BE CONTINUED

SOURCE: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/glycemic-index#low-glycemic-diet

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