Diet Plan for Low Carb Foods

Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy. The digestive process breaks carbs down into a sugar substance called glucose, which is absorbed into the bloodstream and transported throughout your system to meet your body's immediate energy needs. Carbs that break down rapidly during digestion flood the bloodstream with glucose. This rapid rise in blood sugar levels triggers an extreme insulin response to work quickly to normalize these levels.

What Are Low Carb Foods?

• Low carb foods are those that have a longer rate of digestion than higher carb foods, making their impact on blood sugar levels more modest and easier to regulate. The ranking system used to indicate the rate of digestion for specific carbohydrate-rich foods is called the Glycemic Index (GI). The lower the GI value of a carb, the more nominal is its impact on blood sugar levels. Low carb foods are synonymous with low GI foods. Carbohydrates with a GI value less than 54 are considered low carb foods.

Adjusting Your Diet

• You'll have to do your homework. Compile a list of the foods that make up your diet and use the Glycemic Index resource located at the end of this article to look up the GI value of each food. Replace high GI foods with a healthier alternative. Usually this means changing the type of food you eat rather than the food itself. For instance, if you learn that the bread you've been eating has a GI value above 54, you don't have to give up all bread in order to adhere to a low carb diet. It simply means that you need to switch to another kind of bread. Nine-grain multigrain bread has a GI in the 40s.

  In general, the more processed a food is, the higher its GI value is. Any time a carbohydrate rich food is put through grinding and milling, the result is not only a raised glycemic index value for that carb, but the food is also stripped of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fiber. Therefore, the general rule is to look to fill your daily carbohydrate requirement with unrefined natural foods. Most fresh vegetables fall into the low carb category; fresh fruits and some fruit drinks (when choosing a fruit drink look for one that still contains the pulp); choose wild rice instead of white rice; and eat whole grains foods.

This Doesn't Have to Mean Goodbye Forever to High Carb Foods

• Adhering to a low carb food diet plan doesn't necessarily mean you have to give up all high carb foods all the time. Eating modest portions of high carb foods as a part of an overall meal rich in healthy fats, proteins, fiber, and/or other carbohydrates that fall into the low carb category has the effect of slowing down the entire digestive process, decreasing the rate of absorption for all the foods in your meal regardless of the original GI value of any individual carb. You don't necessarily have to give up your Idaho potatoes forever, which are a high carb food, but you do have to eat them in moderation and in combination with food that are fiber rich, protein rich and foods rich in healthy fats.