How to Choose Foods with a Low Glycemic Index Rating for Better Health

Not all carbohydrates are the same. Choose foods with a low Glycemic Index (GI) rating rather than a high GI may help you control your appetite as well as your blood glucose and cholesterol levels. This, in turn, may lower your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

As you make your food choices, eat a wide variety of foods and aim to eat the foods that have a lower Glycemic Index (GI) rating.

Things You'll Need

• Glycemic index from a nutritional reference or reliable Internet source

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Instructions

• 1

  First, some basics on how to use the Glycemic Index:

  The GI ranks carbohydrate foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels.Carbohydrates that raise your blood glucose level slowly have a lower rating than the foods that raise your blood glucose level quickly. Select carbohydrates and foods with carbohydrates that have lower GI ratings to reap the benefits of more satisfying carbs that control appetite and enable you to achieve better health.

• 2

  Rather than sorting carbohydrate sources as being low or high, it is more reasonable to sort them as being low, medium, or high when it comes to their rating on the Glycemic Index. That gives you more choices and more options to find a nutritional lifestyle that you can live with and still get the benefits of eating healthier by the GI ratings.
  Lower GI foods are rated at< 55. Medium are between 55 and 70. Higher GI foods are rated at 70.

• 3

  Using examples of foods in these high, medium, low categories can bring the GI rating system into focus.Here are some foods on the high side of the index. These, you should eat less frequently:

  Instant white rice,potatoes, corn flakes,rice cereals, crackers, some breads,pasta, bagels,watermelon, candy,etc.

• 4

  You can minimize those and still eat well by selecting carbohydrates on at the medium level of GI rating. To give you an idea of what this includes, here are some, but be sure to use the GI to find others.
  bananas, shredded wheat cereal, rye bread,popcorn,
  new potatoes,pineapple, brown rice, Basmati rice,
  raisins, Whole wheat bread, couscous,oatmeal

• 5

  Here are some examples of low GI choices:
  Skim milk, plain yogurt All-Bran
  soy beverage, oat bran bread, Lentils/kidney/baked beans,
  apples,plums,oranges,converted or parboiled rice,sweet potato pumpernickel bread, Al dente (firm) pasta

• 6

  Lower rated GI foods are:
  1) ones that raise your blood glucose more slowly and less dramatically.
  2) higher in nutrients, usually lower in calories and fat
  3) higher in fiber
  4) able to help you increase levels of HDL (healthy) cholesterol
  5) higher in antioxidants

  By now, you can see many health benefits to paying attention to the Glycemic Index rating system and using in making your food decisions.