According to the Mayo Clinic, a low glycemic diet is a food plan that focuses on controlling your daily blood sugar levels by emphasizing foods with a low glycemic index--foods with carbohydrates that do not cause a sharp, rapid spike in circulating blood sugars. A low glycemic diet is thought to help prevent and control diabetes as well as to reduce the risk of heart disease. The key to successfully transitioning from your regular diet to a low glycemic one is to identify which foods have a high glycemic index and to learn to avoid those foods or to find low glycemic substitutes. You don't need to make dramatic changes in your eating habits--a few basic guidelines will get you started. And, since a low glycemic diet incorporates foods thought to prevent other diseases such as cancer, you'll make your overall health better as you control your blood sugar level.
Step 1
Examine your normal diet and list your main sources of carbohydrates. These foods include all forms of grains, pasta, cereal, fruits, vegetables and baked goods. You don't need to list every single food--focus on the foods you consume most often in the course of a week.
Step 2
Eliminate the following foods from your normal diet: commercially baked goods, including crackers, cookies, and cakes; bread and pasta made from white flour; white rice; and sugary drinks such as sports drinks, sodas or fruit juice that contains added sugar.
Step 3
Plan to center your food choices around whole-grain breads, rices, pastas and cereals; fruits; vegetables; beans; nuts and seeds; fish and seafood; lean meats; and fat-free or low-fat dairy products.
Step 4
Use the glycemic index to check whether foods you may be unsure about have a high or low glycemic index. Eliminate foods with a glycemic index over 70 and try to avoid as many foods with a glycemic index between 55 and 70 as possible. The Resources section contains a link to a searchable glycemic index database online.
Step 5
Plan each meal so that half of the food you consume in a sitting is a low glycemic fruit or vegetable, one-quarter is fish, seafood or a lean meat and one-quarter is a whole-grain carbohydrate. If you eat a meal that you know to contain high glycemic index foods, choose very low glycemic foods for the remainder of the day.
Tips and Warnings
- Remember that some foods with a low glycemic index can be high in saturated fat. Try to choose foods that have both a low glycemic index and are low in fat for healthier meals.
Things You'll Need
- Glycemic index chart, such as the searchable database at www.glycemicindex.com
