Glycemic Index the term might sound familiar to some but might be the never-heard type to others. So, what does it mean? Here understand, glycaemic index or GI is a scale that gives ratings to the food containing carbohydrates from 0-100. The rating indicates how quickly a person’s blood sugar rises when a food is eaten on its own. In the following, we’ll understand about all those low and high glycemic index foods.

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Understanding of GI score

The three classifications for GI:

• 55-below 55: Low GI Foods

• 56-69: Medium GI Foods

• 70 or above: High GI Foods

The score doesn’t mean you should only eat food with a GI score of 45. One should look for a balance between Low and high GI foods intake. Another thing to be noted that the GI rating of certain foods is just estimated as it can get influenced by certain factors such as cooking and processing tend to raise GI, usually the riper the food gets it’s GI will raise. However, if a person eats fiber together with other food, it will lower the GI of a meal.

Low and High Glycemic Index Foods

No doubt, food with low GI should be counted as part of a balanced diet. However, concluding that all high GI foods are unhealthy is not right. The GI rating system does not certify that a certain food is healthy or unhealthy. So, not necessary that all High GI foods are unhealthy and all low GI foods are healthy

Here know the food categories under low and high GI:

List of high GI foods

Those food items that contain carbohydrate and is broken down quickly by your body further leading to a quick rise in the blood glucose are rated with high GI rank. Food items that have a high GI rating include:

• Sugary foods and beverages.

• Processed grains, such as white rice and white bread.

• Puffed rice

• Instant oatmeal

• Popcorn

• Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes

• Corn flakes

• Melons

• Pineapple

• Bran flakes

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List of Low Glycemic Index foods

Unlike, high GI foods low GI food breaks down more slowly and steadily raises the blood sugar level over time. Some food with Low GI include:

• Non-starchy vegetables.

• Barley

• Whole-grain pasta

• Whole grains, such as whole-wheat bread.

• Legumes

• Lentils

• Beans

• Oat bran

• Brown rice

• Most fruit

Relation of Low Glycemic Index foods and Diabetes

A diabetes patient must know about the glycaemic index as food eaten with a low GI rate will help them in controlling the blood glucose. However, certain factors must be taken into consideration. One must understand the importance of a healthy and balanced diet that is low in sugar, salt and fat.

In the end, we hope you must have understood the idea behind the concept of low and high GI food. Although its good to have knowledge of GI for making healthful decisions, depending wholly upon it rather than follow a balanced diet will be unnecessary.

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