Glycemic index (GI) of a food in simple terms is the ability of the food to increase blood sugar levels and the glycemic index diet or glycemic diet is a food plan that determines what you can eat based on the GI of the food. The gycemic diet was primarily formulated for better management of diabetes; however, today this diet has proven its great effects in preventing diabetes and prevention/management of many other lifestyle related illnesses including heart disease and obesity. Some also believe that GI diet is has anti ageing effect. All said you might now ask how I follow the GI diet and what to eat on a glycemic diet. Read on and clear all your doubts. 

A person following the GI diet plan should base his food choices on the glycemic index of the foods. A value of 55 and below makes the food low GI, 56 to 69 is medium GI and 70 or above is high glycemic food. A sudden increase in blood sugar levels puts unnecessary load on insulin action and other metabolic activities of our body leading to health problems in the long term.  Hence, low glycemic foods, like complex carbs that do not increase blood glucose levels significantly, are preferred over medium or high GI foods. Though many tables and books that classify food according to their GI are available, it is not always possible to have all the variety of food that we eat enlisted in these resources, hence I am going to share some simple tips on how to identify the GI of your meal and decide what all to include in your gycemic diet or GI diet.

High GI: Try to eliminate the high GI foods from your diet. These are the very easily digestible foods with little or no fiber content. All sugars and refined sugar based foods are high GI. Almost all fast foods or feel good foods like chocolates, ice creams, jams/jellies, colas, alcohol, etc. have a very high GI. Since, cooking and processing makes the food more digestible, it also increases the GI . Hence, peeled, over cooked, finely mashed, or chopped food have a high GI. Apart from these any food that has been refined, bleached, sweet fortified, or malted automatically has a high GI. Calorie dense fruits (fruits with high perceived sweetness) like bananas, dates, and raisins; and processed grains like glutinous rice, self rising flour, and instant flour have a very high glycemic index. Our body can easily convert fat into sugars, so fat rich foods like butter, cheese, lard, fried foods, refined or roasted nuts, red meat, etc. have a high GI. 

Medium GI: Consume these in moderation, preferably few servings every alternate day or less. These are foods that contain low to moderate amounts of fiber content along with high to moderate fat/sugar content. Raw vegetables with low fiber content like carrot, beetroot, pumpkins etc.; fiber rich cooked vegetables; dense fruits with edible fiber rich skin (berries, melons, and guava) have a moderate GI. Since cooking or processing increases GI, cooked whole grains, unleavened whole wheat bread, unstrained juices, and stir fries, which though cooked have small amounts of fiber, are considered medium GI.   

Low GI: These foods must form the bulk of your diet. These include foods with high fiber content, minimal processing or cooking, and low sugar/fat content. All fiber rich salad vegetables, fruits with very high water contents (watermelons), clear soups, sprouts, germinated grains, etc. are low GI foods. 

Based on these suggestions you can easily mix and match foods from each category and plan a GI compatible meals. Ifood.tv has a great list of recipes with low glycemic value.

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