On Healthy Living

You’ve probably heard about the glycemic index, a way of categorizing foods based on how quickly the foods convert to blood sugar in the body. The theory is that foods lower on the glycemic index convert more slowly, thus make you feel full longer and don’t provide the crash that many high-carb sugary foods do.

For example, foods that rank below 55 are considered best for those eating low on the glycemic index, while those higher should be used sparingly or avoided. Low-GI foods include soy beans (18) black beasn (30) and peas (48). Borderline foods include sweet potatoes (54) and high foods are things such as white potato (boiled, 70; baked, 98).

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that eating a low-GI diet helped people lose weight and was even more effective than a low-fat, low-calorie diet. Those following a low-GI diet lost 7.8 percent of their body weight compared to 6.1 percent for the low-calorie crowd. Their triglyceride levels (which indicate risk for heart disease) also dropped dramatically.

If you want to incoroprate low GI foods into your diet, check out this chart. And remember that all things work best in moderation, so if you just can’t resist a baked potato every now and then, have one, but balance it with some asparagus or a big green salad.

Sarah White wrote this on May 24th, 2005 and filed it under Healthy Living, Diet & Exercise, Healthy Eating, Women's Health, Men's Health |