Diabetes is a chronic illness characterized by high blood sugars due to an inability to produce or properly use insulin. Most of the food you eat turns into sugar as a source of energy for your body. Diet, therefore, plays an important role in the management of diabetes. The glycemic index diet, or GI, ranks carbohydrate-containing foods on how quickly it affects blood sugar. Foods with a high a GI cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and foods with a low GI cause only a slight rise in blood sugar. Eating more low GI foods may help you have better control over your blood sugars.
Starches
On the GI ranking system, a low GI food is less than or equal to 55, according to the dietitian website RD411. Low GI starches for people with diabetes include specialty grain breads, pumpernickel bread, chapati, corn tortilla, barley, corn, whole wheat spaghetti, white flour spaghetti, rice noodles, udon noodles and rolled oats. Cooking affects the GI of a food item. For example, al dente cooked spaghetti has a lower GI than spaghetti cooked softer, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Fruit
Most fruits have a low GI, according to the American Diabetes Association, because of fiber content. Ripeness, however, can affect the GI of a fruit, and you should not eat very ripe fruits when trying to control blood sugar on a low GI diet. Low GI fruits for people with diabetes include apples, oranges, bananas, mango, canned peaches, grapes, strawberries, grapefruit, apple juice and orange juice.
Starchy Vegetables
Starchy vegetables with a low GI for people with diabetes include carrots, plantain, taro, corn and peas. Having better control over your blood sugar will not only improve your risk of diabetes related complications, such as kidney disease, heart disease and blindness, but it will also help control your hunger, says RD411.
Dairy Products
Low GI dairy foods for diabetics include whole milk, skim milk, ice cream and fruited yogurt. Soy milk is also a low GI food and an alternative to cow's milk.
Legumes
Legumes serve as a source of carbohydrate and protein on the diabetic diet. Legumes are also high in fiber, making many of them a low GI food option. A list of low GI legumes for people with diabetes includes chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, soy beans, lima beans and peanuts.
Meat and Meat Substitutes
Meat and meat substitutes do not contain carbohydrate and therefore do not have a GI ranking. As a diabetic, you should choose mostly lean and low-fat meat and meat substitutes to limit your calorie and fat intake. Lean meats include skinless poultry, fish, shellfish, ham, pork loin and chuck shoulder. Low-fat meat substitutes include egg whites, nonfat cottage cheese, low-fat cheese and tofu.
Non-starchy Vegetables
Non-starchy vegetables contain only 5 g of carbohydrate per serving and most do not have a GI rank. Non-starchy vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce and spinach.
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