7 Low-glycemic diet plan strategies to enhance your weight loss and blood sugar control
- 2 Minutes Read
The glycemic index (GI) can be a useful tool for curbing hunger and tempering blood sugar response after meals. It may also help manage insulin resistance. Try a few of these low-glycemic diet plan strategies to give you an edge with your nutrition plan!
The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of how a carbohydrate-containing food causes blood sugar levels to rise. Both the physical and chemical properties of a food determine how the food is absorbed and used by the body. Foods low on the GI scale usually release glucose more slowly while foods high on the glycemic index tend to release glucose more quickly.
Another ranking helpful in monitoring blood sugar is the glycemic load, a formula using GI and portion size. Whether you are trying to lose weight or manage blood sugar, nutrition experts advise that GI and glycemic load should not be the only methods for deciding what to eat. Affected by multiple factors, the GI ranking of a single food changes according to such things as ripeness, the extent of processing, and additional ingredients in a packaged product. It's too simplistic to select foods based on GI alone. On the other hand, GI can be a useful tool if you are looking to control hunger better, improve your blood sugars after meals, and help treat insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a contributing factor for type 2 diabetes and can cause obesity, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Think of using the glycemic index to tweak or fine-tune your nutrition plan while focusing on including a healthy mix of foods.
Better balancing acts might be:
Super swaps might be:
Better bets might be:
Perfect pairings might be:
Add plenty of non-starchy vegetables to meals and snacks. For optimal nutrition, choose fresh or frozen asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, etc.!
Add beans, peas, barley, oats, nuts, seeds, and whole grains to your diet repertoire.
For example, have pasta al dente (firm), and try not to overcook vegetables.
It's smart to use low-glycemic diet strategies when fine-tuning your eating plan for meeting your weight and blood-sugar management goals! Just remember, don't rely on the glycemic index and glycemic load ranking systems alone. Keep in mind the bigger picture of a balanced plate of food that offers a healthy mix of carbs, protein, and fat, and you will be fueled for good health!
The MyNetDiary Premium recipe collection has plenty of healthy, low-glycemic recipes to help you increase your whole food intake and tweak your diet with low-glycemic diet strategies!
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Diabetes->Blood glucose Diabetes->Carbs & Carb Counting Nutrients->"Carbs: Fiber, Starch, & Sugar"