How Low Glycaemic Diet Works For Weight Loss

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If you are a person who suffers with diabetes or high cholesterol, you will know that you are supposed to eat a diet full of low-glycaemic index foods. Also, weight loss freaks go on a low-glycaemic diet to shed the extra weight. Here, we will be discussing about the low glycaemic diet foods for weight loss.

A low glycaemic index (GI) diet is based on the concept of the glycaemic index. Studies have shown that the low-glycaemic diet may result in losing weight, lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and reduce blood sugar levels.

So what is the glycaemic index? The glycaemic index is a measure that ranks foods according to their effect on your blood sugar levels and is totally based on how quickly that particular food will increase the blood sugar levels.

The glycaemic index ratings fall under three categories: Low is 55 or less, medium is 56-69, and high is 70 or more.

Foods with a low-glycaemic index are the preferred choice because they are easily digested and absorbed.

Have a look at the low glycaemic diet foods for weight loss.

Foods To Eat On A Low Glycaemic Index Diet

There's no need to count calories, fat and carbohydrates on the low-glycaemic index diet. Instead, you will be swapping high-glycaemic index foods with low-glycaemic index foods. There are plenty of foods to choose from, here are the following low-GI foods:

• Bread containing ingredients such as whole grains, multi-grain, and rye.
• Fruits like apples, apricots, strawberries, peaches, plums, kiwi and pears.
• Breakfast cereals like porridge made with rolled oats.
• Vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, celery and zucchini.
• Legumes like chickpeas, lentils, baked beans, kidney beans.
• Starchy vegetables like potato, sweet potatoes, corn and yams.
• Rice such as basmati, long-grain and brown rice.
• Grains like quinoa, barley, buckwheat and semolina.
• Pasta and noodles like vermicelli noodles or rice noodles.
• Dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese, custard, soy milk and almond milk.
• Also, you could add these following foods as a part of the low GI diet.
• Meat like chicken, pork, beef, eggs.
• Fish and seafood like salmon, tuna, sardines and prawns.
• Nuts like almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts and macadamia nuts.
  Fats and oils like rice bran oil, olive oil and butter.
• Herbs and spices like salt, pepper, basil and garlic.

How Does Low GI Diet Work In Weight Loss?

Brown rice and quinoa can be eaten for weight loss. As one serving of brown rice has a GI of 50 with 32 grams of carbohydrates, so its glycaemic load is 16. The same goes with quinoa, it has a GI of 53 with 25 grams of carbohydrates, so its glycaemic load is 13.

Though quinoa has a little high glycaemic index, it will not spike your blood sugar levels. According to the American Diabetes Association, it is recommended that diabetes patients should focus on eating high fibre, non-starchy vegetables and whole-grains. Also, they should avoid consuming processed flours and sugar.

For weight loss, the GI diet works wonders because it's a good way to focus on complex carbohydrates with more fibre and avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugar.

Factors That Affect The GI Of A Food

There are a number of factors that affect the GI value of the foods.

1. The GI of sugar ranges from as low as 19 for fructose to up to 105 for maltose. So, it totally depends on the type of sugar the food contains.

2. Starch is a carbohydrate which is made up of two molecules - amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is difficult to digest, whereas amylopectin is easily digested. Foods with a high presence of amylose will have a lower GI.

3. Both acids and fats slow down the rate at which food is digested and absorbed in the body. This results in a low GI value and adding avocados or lemon juice in meals will also lower the GI.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.