A low glycemic index (GI) food list can be found at your regular health care physician’s clinic. While it is good to add lower GI foods to the diet, please do keep in mind that it is not necessarily that one needs to be on such a diet at all times. So even if there is addition of food that is not on this list, it is quite all right and nothing to worry about. In terms of cereals and grains, low GI foods would include oatmeal, bran, muesli, all beans and oat bran. Instead of using regular pasta, it is better to use whole wheat pasta in a staple meal.
Brown and red rice are preferable to white and Basmati rice. Soy, linseed, pumpernickel, whole grain and rye are good for use in breads. Better to avoid white bread altogether. Among vegetables, it is better to stick with frozen corn and peas, and fresh carrots, eggplant broccoli, cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, chilies, peppers and beans. Better to avoid potatoes, beetroots and all sorts of fleshy and sweet vegetables such as pumpkins and yams and so on. For fruits, the ones on the extremely high GI list are mangoes, water melons, dates, figs and raisins, papaya, bananas and pineapple. Most citrus fruits, plums, kiwi, cherries, grapefruit, pears, peaches, strawberries and prunes are all part of the low GI fruit list.
It is important to know that even though some fruits are on the list of low GI foods, they cannot be eaten in unlimited quantities. The most significant thing about eating low GI foods to achieve a certain impact is to control quantities. This becomes hardest when dealing with snacks, as people tend to lose track of how much they can munch. It is important to pay special attention to snacks, as this will always help in terms of weight control or even controlling a disease of some kind. Among the low GI snacks, would be any fruit from the list provided above, and a variety of spreads in combination. The low GI spreads are hummus, jam and chocolate-hazelnut spread. These can be had in combination with the kind of breads that are also low GI for best results. Try not to use more than a couple of teaspoons at a time. Peanuts, walnuts, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts and macadamias are all low GI foods and make for excellent snacks as well. Do keep in mind the rule about quantities.
|
