What is a low glycemic index diet?

Glycemic Index and its dietary pattern
1. Glycemic Index Glycemic index (GI) is an indicator to evaluate the effect of food on blood glucose, so it has important reference significance for diabetic patients. In addition, in recent years, as people pay more and more attention to weight control, more and more healthy people also begin to pay attention to the glycemic index of food.
2. Glycemic Index Dietary Patterns And there is an increasingly popular dietary pattern called Low Glycemic Index designed precisely on the basis of the concept of Glycemic Index, so what is the meaning of this diet? Can it help us control our bodies effectively?
Low glycemic index diet
The low glycemic index diet is a diet based on the concept of glycemic index (GI). Research has found that a low glycemic index diet may help reduce body weight, lower blood sugar levels, and to some extent reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. However, before we can understand what a low glycemic index diet is, first we need to figure out what the glycemic index is.
We all know that carbohydrates are found in breads, grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, and when we consume carbohydrates, the digestive system degrades them into simple sugars, which then enter the bloodstream and affect blood sugar levels. However, there are many types of carbohydrates and different types of carbohydrates have different effects on blood sugar. Therefore, we need a universal standard to assess how much a food affects blood sugar levels, and the glycemic index (GI) is one such evaluation.
As a control, glucose has a glycemic index of 100. Based on the magnitude of the glycemic index, we categorize the glycemic index into three classes:
≤55 as low glycemic index; 56 to 69 as medium glycemic index; and ≥70 as high glycemic index.
Foods with a low glycemic index are digested and absorbed more slowly, causing a slower and smaller increase in blood glucose levels, and are considered to be healthier dietary choices. On the contrary, intake of high glycemic index foods should be limited because these foods are digested and absorbed quickly, so they can cause both rapid increases and rapid decreases in blood glucose levels. Factors affecting the glycemic index of foods
1. Type of sugar: Each type of sugar has a different glycemic index, with the lowest being fructose (19) and maltose (105). Therefore, the type of sugar contained in a food will have a certain impact on its glycemic index.
2. Structure of starch: Starch includes straight chain starch and branched chain starch. Straight-chain starch is difficult to digest, while branched-chain starch is relatively easy to digest, so foods with high content of straight-chain starch have a low glycemic index.
3. Degree of carbohydrate refining: Certain processing methods (e.g. milling and rolling) will destroy the molecules of both straight-chain starch and branched-chain starch, thus increasing the glycemic index. Therefore, the more processed the food, the higher the glycemic index.
4. Nutritional composition: Both fats and acids can reduce the digestibility and absorption of food, resulting in a lower glycemic index. Therefore, adding fat or acid, such as avocado or lemon juice, can lower the glycemic index of a food.
5. Cooking method: Preparation process and cooking technique can also change the glycemic index. Generally, the longer the cooking time, the faster the digestion and absorption of sugars in the food, and the higher the glycemic index will be.
6. Ripeness: Unripe fruits contain complex carbohydrates that are broken down into sugars during the ripening process. As a result, the glycemic index of a fruit gradually increases as it ripens. For example: unripe bananas have a glycemic index of 30, which increases to 48 when overripe.
How to eat a low glycemic index diet?
A low glycemic index diet is a diet that uses low glycemic index foods and avoids high glycemic index foods. The diet does not involve counting calories or keeping track of protein, fat, or carbohydrate intake, but simply replacing high glycemic index foods with low glycemic index foods.
There is a wide variety of healthy and nutritious low-glycemic-index foods to consider, including the following: ● Breads: whole grains, multigrains, rye, and leavened breads; ● Breakfast cereals: oatmeal, Swiss churros, and whole-grain vitamins; ● Fruits: apples, strawberries, peaches, pears, and kiwi; ● Greens: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and zucchini; and ● Starchy vegetables: Carisma and Nicola varieties of potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and yams. ● Legumes: lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, butter beans, and kidney beans; ● Pasta: spaghetti, spaghetti sopa, spaghetti squash, and rice noodles; ● Grains: quinoa, barley, pearl couscous, buckwheat, barley, and groats; ● Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, eggnog salsa, soy milk, and almond milk.