For the 23.6 million diabetics in the United States, managing blood glucose is critical. According to the American Diabetes Association, 8 percent of the American population have blood glucose levels higher than 110 mg/dl. The good news is the incidence of undiagnosed diabetes has fallen over 50 percent during the past 10 years. Proper management of diabetes depends first on diet, followed by exercise and medications. One easy way to manage blood glucose levels through the diet is using the glycemic index.
Step 1
Make a list of all of the food you eat throughout the day. Make a column for carbohydrates, fats and proteins and enter the food in the appropriate column. Record how much of each food you eat and the number of calories per serving. While the serving size is not critical to the GI of food, it is still important to track serving sizes and caloric intake.
Step 2
Next to the food that are categorized as carbohydrates, record the glycemic index (GI). The GI of carbohydrates is a simple system of rating how fast carbohydrates you eat cause your blood glucose to spike. Low GI foods are rated less than 54. Medium GI foods are rated 55 to 70. High GI foods are rated over 70. You can find books in your local bookstore and resources on the Internet that will give you the GI of almost every type of carbohydrate.
Step 3
Look for ways to make simple carbohydrate exchanges based on the GI. For instance, instead of eating raisin bran for breakfast (GI equals 73), choose old-fashioned oatmeal with a GI of 48. Instead of eating dates with a GI of 103, exchange them for cherries that have a GI of 22.
Step 4
Go through each carbohydrate that you have recorded in your food journal, looking for ways to lower the GI of the carbohydrates you typically eat. If you can reduce the GI of your carbs, you may not need to make significant changes in other parts of the diet.
Step 5
Add a fat or protein serving to a meal if you are dining out and cannot make carbohydrates exchanges. For instance, if you are having dinner at a friend's house and one of the courses consists of a fruit salad with a high GI, consider adding a piece of pita bread that has a GI of 57. Averaging the high and the medium GI will even out the total GI result. Or, if there are selections available with fat and protein, add those instead. The goal is to keep your GI within medium to low ranges to stabilize your blood glucose.
Tips and Warnings
- Start slowly and make permanent changes. Eliminate the easy choices, then go for the more difficult ones.
- Avoid fad diets and programs that make outlandish promises. Be sure to test your blood glucose on a regular basis.
Things You'll Need
- Food scale
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Foods with fat and protein
- Food journal
