What you eat during the day may affect your blood glucose levels. Meals usually consist of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, or mixture between these three. Consuming carbohydrates can cause your carb level to increase significantly, especially when you consume liquids containing carbohydrates like juice and milk compared with solids like cornflakes and bread.
Understanding the Glycemic Index (GI) is necessary to maintain your blood sugar levels, to prevent insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes, to keep a healthy weight, and to keep cancers at bay. GI is a numerical scale to categorize carbohydrates according to their effect on blood sugar (blood glucose) levels. This system can measure how high a certain food can boost your blood sugar.
The GI score of 70 or higher signifies a high GI, a score of 56-69 refers to a medium GI, and a score of 55 or lower indicates a low GI. Carbohydrates that break down and discharge glucose quickly into the bloodstream during digestion are prone to have a high GI, while ones that break down and discharge glucose slowly have a low GI number.
Foods with a high GI such as cornflakes and white bread can increase blood sugar levels rapidly. Medium GI foods include whole-wheat products. Low GI foods such as legumes, vegetables, fruits and nuts can possibly result in a slower change in blood sugar. However, low-index foods are not always healthy, as those foods that are high in fat may be inclined to have low GI score.
It is essential for people with or without diabetes to follow a low GI diet because this healthy eating plan can enable them to preserve a healthy energy level, to control their blood glucose, and to prevent fatigue.
Fiber is a special type of carbohydrate and is present in all plants. When you consume high-fiber foods, it takes a longer time to digest them, making it possible to raise blood glucose levels at a slower pace. Once you have eaten them, they go gradually through your digestive system than foods without fiber because high-fiber foods still have original fiber sources. No wonder you feel more satiated after ingesting these foods!
Fiber-rich foods consist of vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, watercress, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, radishes, cabbage, radishes, cauliflower, squash and palm heart. These vegetables have a GI value of 15-50, therefore they are considered good for your health.
You may consider legumes like lentils, kidney beans, split peas, garbanzo beans and soybeans. They have a GI value of 25-45.
Fruits such as apricots, apples and grapefruits have a lower GI than other fruits.
Foods high in protein as well as high-fiber foods are healthy to eat, as they have a low GI. These include legumes, seeds and nuts, which are high in fiber and protein. Likewise, fish have high protein in addition to containing omega-3 fatty acids. Tuna, salmon, herring, cod and halibut have less saturated fat and LDL (bad) cholesterol than red meat.
The good fish, named above can decrease blood fats known as triglycerides, lowering the risk of cardiovascular problems. In addition, consuming fatty fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce risk of insulin resistance. Keep in mind you must keep away from fish with high levels of mercury such as king mackerel, swordfish and tilefish.
Maintaining your blood glucose can comprise of complex carbohydrates, such as vegetables, whole grains, dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Eat for a healthy life by selecting complex meals with a low GI value.
If you have type 2 diabetes and are provided with a low GI diet, your risks of developing heart disease and LDL (bad) cholesterol may reduce substantially. Researchers have shown that people with a high intake of high GI carbohydrates have more insulin resistance than those who consume low GI carbohydrates.
People with diabetes must avoid foods containing saturated fats, trans fats and sodium because diabetes can allow clogged arteries to occur leading to cardiovascular diseases. These foods include hot dogs, bacon, sausage, beef, stick margarines, organ meats and egg yolk.
In addition, please avoid processed foods made with white sugar and white flour, as those white foods have a high GI. White potatoes are included.
Limiting these foods enables you to keep your blood glucose under control in addition to losing weight.
Know that the time and the amount of consumed meals influences blood glucose levels as well. Eating three meals a day regularly may contribute to make your blood glucose steadier. Consumption of larger portions may increase more glucose levels than smaller ones. Please consult your healthcare provider to decide how many carbohydrates you should ingest every day, so you can make wise food choices.