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~ Return to Nutter's Diabetes Living Information Home Page ~
Maintaining normal blood glucose (BG) levels is the aim of every diabetic. In most cases, this can be achieved through diet, accompanied by other factors such as exercise. The Glycemic Index provides diabetics with a great resource for understanding which foods can help, and which foods will hinder, their attempts at controlling rollercoastering BG levels.The Glycemic Index rates foods according to how quickly a food is converted into sugar in the blood and how quickly glucose levels in the blood return to acceptable levels. Each food is assigned a score. The higher the score, the more you want to avoid eating large amounts of this food. The index itself is divided into three categories: Foods rating 0-55 are considered low glycemic foods, foods rating 55-70 are considered medium glycemic foods and foods rating over 70 are considered high glycemic foods. How does a low, medium or high glycemic food act in the body? High glycemic foods are digested and absorbed more quickly leading to a speedy rise in BG. Eating an overabundance of foods categorized as “high” is called a high glycemic load (HGL). Unfortunately, HGL’s also cause the “spike” in BG that we’ve all heard about that results in a “crash” within hours of eating high glycemic foods and in diabetics, more serious complications can occur. Does this mean you stay away from nutritious foods ranked high on the index? No. It simply means you take their rank into consideration in combination with the rest of the foods on your diet and adjust your intake of them accordingly. Luckily, foods ranked higher on the index are generally foods you should keep to a minimum in your diet anyway (refined starches and sugars). Most legumes and whole grains are medium glycemic index foods and most fruits 
and vegetable are low glycemic index foods. For example, the glycemic rank of an avocado is so negligible that most indexes don’t even mention them. Remember, everything in moderation! There are no foods you should avoid unless the health professionals you are working with have told you to steer clear. What you need to do is be very aware of your daily intakes. There is also a “preparation and combination factor”. Eating a raw apple suggests a certain index score. However, as soon as you prepare this apple with other foods, and possibly add refined sugar, the benefits of the apple being ranked as low are lost. The glycemic index is not the ultimate tool to use to design your diet. It is only a guideline for your reference and there are still many ongoing global studies looking at the effects of foods and how your body converts them into glucose. The American Dietetic Association recommends that diabetics track grams of carbohydrates rather than adherence to the glycemic index. Have a look at some examples of food exchanges that can help you create a healthy eating plan. |
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