Diabetes Mellitus: Low Glycemic Diet You Should Consume To Manage Blood Sugar Levels

If you are a diabetic, you'd know how important it is to keep yourself fit and healthy to manage blood sugar levels. A healthy diet and regular exercise is the key to managing diabetes. Diabetics are generally advised to eat a low-carb diet, considering it may spike blood sugar levels immediately. Therefore, they are mostly advised to eat low-glycemic foods that help in controlling these spikes. For the uninitiated, glycemic index is a rating system for foods that contain carbohydrates. The higher the glycemic index, the higher quantity of carbs is in it. Foods like white bread, grapes, white flour, raisins, beer, popcorn, muesli are high glycemic foods.It is important to eat low glycemic foods to ensure lesser spikes in the blood sugar. We give you a list of foods with low and high glycemic index.

Why you should eat foods with low glycemic index?

It is important to include low glycemic index foods as they take a lot of time to digest and absorb slowly in the body, causing a gradual increase in the blood sugar levels. High glycemic index foods, on the other hand, tend to spike the blood glucose levels, which may cause the body to function abruptly.

The glycemic index has a scale of 1-100 that measures how quickly your blood sugar is spiked.

• Foods that raise blood sugar levels quickly are high- they are rated 70 or more.
• Foods that raise blood sugar levels moderately are medium- they rated 56 to 69.
• Foods that raise blood sugar levels slowly are low- they are rated 55 or less.

High glycemic foods:

Here's a table depicting high glycemic foods that you should try to avoid:

Low glycemic foods:

Here's the low glycemic diet you should follow-

1. Tomato

Tomatoes have GI of less than 15, which makes them beneficial for a diabetic. Tomatoes even contain chromium, which is said to keep blood sugar levels in check. Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin A and vitamin C, both of which help the body get rid of free radicals in the body.

2. Cauliflower

The GI of cauliflower is said to be around five to 15. It has properties that can prevent cholesterol and tends to improve blood flow in the body. It comes packed with minerals like phosphorus, potassium, manganese, magnesium, protein, et al. It also has a lot of fibre content that helps keep blood sugar in check.

3. Cabbage

Cabbage, too, has a very low GI ranging from zero to 10. It is known to clear blood, boost skin health, and is a remarkable remedy for ulcers. Its bitterness tends to stimulate gastric juices to digest food better.

4. Guavas

Guavas or amrood has natural sugar that doesnt really spike blood sugar levels.

5. Spinach

The GI of spinach is almost zero, which means it does wonders to people with diabetes. Moreover, it is packed with amino acids that lower blood pressure, folate and iron that are key nutrients needed for a healthy body. Spinach is also a good source of fibre and vitamins A, B, C, E and K.

6. Raddish

Raddish or mooli is a rich source of potassium, vitamin C and fibre, which help in keeping your blood sugar levels in check.