Any food or drink that passes through your lips influences your blood glucose. When you are diabetic, or at risk for developing diabetes, knowing how food and drink affect your blood sugar is important. Good blood glucose control all comes down to counting carbohydrates and eating the right ones. Meal planning based on the glycemic diet can make choosing the right foods easy.
Blood Glucose Ranges
Before starting on a new diet, you should know how your body responds to a meal. It is recommended to test your blood glucose once in the morning, after a meal and before going to sleep for the night. In the morning, your blood glucose should be between 80 and 100 mg/dl. After a meal and before sleep, it is ideal for your blood glucose to be equal to or under 140 mg/dl.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index rates foods based on their affect on blood sugar. Foods can have either a high glycemic index or a low glycemic index. When a food has a high glycemic index, it means that it will result in a rapid spike in blood glucose. A food with a low glycemic index results in a moderate rise in blood sugar over time.
Foods
The glycemic index goes from 0 to 100. The higher the food is on this scale, the higher its glycemic index. Foods that fall between 70 and 100 are high glycemic index foods, which include potatoes, white bread and white rice. Foods that are between 56 and 69 are medium glycemic index foods such as corn, bananas and pineapple. Low glycemic index foods are 55 or under on the scale and are foods like oatmeal, low-fat dairy, raw carrots, beans and lentils.
Benefits
There are pros and cons that go with any diet. However if you are looking for an insight into carbohydrates in food and blood glucose control, eating by the glycemic index can help. This kind of diet can be realistic long-term and can help you if you are at risk for developing diabetes.
References
- "Cecil Essentials of Medicine"; Thomas Andreoli, MD, Charles C. Carpenter,MD, Robert C. Griggs, MD, Joseph Loscalzo, MD, (Eds.); 2004
- Mayo Clinic.com: Glycemic Index Diet
