Low-impact carbs refers to carbohydrates that have a more gradual effect on your blood sugar than processed carbohydrates and carbohydrate foods high in sugar. The glycemic index rates foods based on their impact on blood glucose, commonly called blood sugar. Choosing low-impact carbs over processed foods improves your nutrition, helps to manage blood sugar and energy levels and supports weight management.
Background
Carbohydrate foods and beverages that have a high impact on blood sugar include refined grains, sugary drinks such as sodas, alcohol, and processed snack foods such as potato chips. Protein foods and fats aren't included on the glycemic index because they tend to have little or no impact on raising blood glucose levels. White bread, a highly processed food, rates 100 on the glycemic index 1 to 100 scale. Low-glycemic foods rate 55 and below. Healthy diet and regular physical activity may prevent 90 percent of type 2 diabetes cases, the Harvard School of Public Health Reports.
Low-Impact Carbs
Carbohydrate foods that are rich in fiber have a lower impact on blood sugar than refined carbohydrates and sugars. This is why low-carb diets often refer to "net carbs" and some food labels list net carbs. Net carbs refers to the carbohydrate gram count of the food after subtracting grams of fiber or carbohydrates reputed to have no impact on blood sugar, such as sugar alcohols. Non-starchy green vegetables such as green beans, spinach, kale, asparagus and celery count as low-impact carbs. Whole grains such as barley and natural, unprocessed oats are lower-impact than processed cereals such as cream of wheat, cream of rice and quick-cooking oats. Raspberries, due to their fiber content, are lower-impact than tropical fruits such as pineapple and mango. Unsweetened yogurt provides a low-glycemic snack.
Considerations
A number of factors affect how a specific food impacts your blood sugar. Factors include the maturity or ripeness of some foods, cooking method and other foods you include in the meal. For example, baby potatoes have a lower GI than mature potatoes, and waxy potatoes such as red potatoes have a lower GI than starchy potatoes such as large brown potatoes. Green bananas have a lower GI than ripe bananas. Pasta cooked 'al dente,' so it remains firm, has a lower GI than pasta that's looked until it's soft. Counting carbs by checking nutrition labels offers one method for diabetic meal planning or reducing carbohydrates with your doctor's approval.
Tips
Including protein and moderate amounts of fat in meals and snacks can slow the effect of carbohydrates impact on your blood sugar levels. The amount of carbohydrate consumed also affects the impact of your meal on your blood sugar. This is why a measure called "glycemic load" is gaining popularity. Using portion control can help you make the most effective use of low-impact carbs in your food program. For example, a serving of starch such as brown rice or barley is 1/2 cup, or the size of a tennis ball. Glycemic index charts or databases provide glycemic index information for carbohydrate foods.
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