Low GI Food

Carbohydrates And Blood Glucose Level

It's recommended that people with diabetes space their daily carbohydrate intake evenly over the day's meals and snacks to avoid large rises in blood glucose levels after eating. People with type 2 diabetes who control their condition with diet and exercise alone may not need snacks, but may benefit from eating six smaller meals during the day rather than three large ones.

This can be a good strategy to cope with events where food is plentiful throughout the day. Your doctor and dietitian can advise you about an appropriate meal pattern for your condition and medication.

Remember, there is no one type of diabetes. Your dietary needs also depend on your age, physical activity level, the medication you're taking, and other health factors.

Choosing carbohydrate-rich foods with a low GI value instead of high-GI foods can help control your blood glucose level, because low-GI foods don't cause blood glucose levels to rise as high. Scientific studies have shown that a low-fat diet based on low-GI, carbohydrate-rich foods can help improve blood glucose control, blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and weight control.

Therefore, where possible, people with diabetes should choose foods with a low- or medium GI value rather than high-GI foods. However, it is still important to eat sensible amounts of low- and medium-GI foods.

Tips For Low-Gi Eating

Not all carbohydrates cause a blood sugar spike. In fact, the amount of sugar or starch in a food is not a good indication of its blood glucose (glycaemic) effect. There are many different types of sugars and starches, and they are digested at different rates and have different effects on blood glucose.

Preparation and cooking methods will also affect the blood glucose response. The more processed a food is, the easier it is to digest and the higher its glycaemic index (GI) value. Scientists developed the GI method to measure the extent to which different carbohydrate-rich foods increase blood glucose when eaten.

Although they contain the same amounts of carbohydrate, foods with a high GI value (>70) are digested faster and produce a quicker and higher rise in blood glucose than foods with a medium (56-69) or low GI value (<55).

People with diabetes should choose carbohydrate-rich foods with low to medium GI values. Switching from high- to low-GI foods, limiting fat intake and exercising regularly will improve your health.

Taken from Healthy Food For Life
Info by Dr Susanna Holt (PhD, dietician)