Low-glycemic Index Foods

Question: For weight loss, is it better to do a low carb diet, or lean more towards the low glycemic index foods? I am not diabetic, or hypoglycemic, I am just overweight and want to loose weight!

Answer: It is the about the same. LGI is foods that are low in simple sugars. They are more complex carbs such as whole wheat, veggies, beans. I completely disagree with carbs = engery; at least for me. I've been on the low carb diet and lost weight fast, and after the first 3 days (withdrawl from no sugar or flour, carbs) I have had more energy than ever! I also have lost craving and get full faster when I eat! You will have to research how the Adkins works, because its not just eating low carbs. Here is a quick summarized info: Induction phase: 20 grams or less the first two weeks-your carbs need to come from mostly veggies (lettuce, cucumbers, pepper, etc...no potatoes, corn, peas, or carrots) Your fat must be 65% of what you eat that day. Try to keep it no low sat fat and NO trans fat. Use yummy salad dressing, olive oil, etc. I thought maybe trying low fat and low carb would make me loose even more, but it didn't and I didn't loose any. I went back to eating fat and lost!

Question: Confused about Low Glycemic index foods? Some websites say pasta is high GI and others say it's low GI. Which one is is?? I only eat whole wheat pasta because it's a good source of protein in my vegetarian diet and I eat is as a staple.

Answer: only high fiber all natural carbs are low GI and that is surely not pasta, no form of it. pasta should be consumed sparingly it is not healthy regardless if it's made from wheat or bleached white flour. only all natural foods are truly healthy and there is not plant, tree or bush that bears pasta.

Question: what is the low glycemic index diet and what foods are in it? Hello, I am over weight with PCOS, I was reading online that the low glycemic index diet would be best for me, can someone please give some examples of what kind of food are in that diet and what foods to avoid?!?!! It's super confusing to me!!!

Answer: Foods with a very low GI index include nuts and beans and foods with a very high GI index include white bread, corn flakes and dried dates. You can see a list of GI values for a wide range of carbohydrate foods in a web search for "glycemic index tables". A web search for "low glycemic index diet" will also give you further information.

Question: Anyone here on Low Glycemic Index foods, diabetes diet, or celiac (non-gluten/non-wheat) diet? How to live like this? Any tips or hints? Any advice would be great! Do you get to eat deserts, pizzas, and so forth?

Answer: I have been on a gluten free diet for 7 years because of celiac disease. What I have found is that your diet is only as limited as you want it to be. Yes you can't have a standard meal out or go to most pizza places and have a pizza but there are plenty of desserts that can be made gluten free, Uno's has a gluten free pizza along with several others. The joy of having someone figure out or even attempt to make something gluten free for you would never be had. I have learned to cook and even bake some to make things that I miss or just want once in a while. I am in the group of gluten free people that don't eat substitute foods unless they are as good as regular food. That involves sampling and trying things and what I do alot is just eat things that are naturally gluten free. My favorite cookbooks are the three by George Stella. They are low carb cookbooks and most of the recipes are naturally gluten free and if you want one of the ones he uses flour in, then it isn't hard to substitute for it. He has desserts (my favorite- cannoli parfait), soups, salads, meats, lasagna, mac and cheese substitute using cauliflour. So my advice is to concentrate on all the foods you can have and don't worry about what you can't have. When you figure out what you miss most, learn to make it or find it somewhere.

Question: low Glycemic Index foods? Can anyone give me or tell me where I can find a list of low GI foods and foods to avoid on the diet?thanks x

Answer: it is as easy to check on google as it is asking here.

Question: what are low glycemic index foods?

Answer: The glycemic index or GI ranks carbohydrate (sugars and starches) according to their effect on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion have high GI values. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low GI values. Some low GI foods are: Bran cereal Apples Carrots Chick peas Grapes Green peas Kidney beans Nopal Oranges Peaches Peanuts Pears Red lentils Strawberries Sweet corn Study Finds Health Benefit in Low-Glycemic Diet http://www.preventdisease.com/news/articles/study_finds_health_benefit_low-glycemic_diet.shtml

Question: What foods contribute to a LOW glycemic index diet? Also, what should be avoided ?

Answer: Basically, multi-grain, high fiber carbohydrate sources are low glycemic index foods because they take longer to go through the digestive tract and are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream. Sweetened foods or foods like white bread are absorbed much more quickly and therefore have a much higher glycemic number. The number is determined by the rise in blood sugar a given amount of time after consumption. Bakery Products *Pound cake Low 54 Danish pastry Medium 59 Muffin (unsweetened) Medium 62 Cake , tart Medium 65 Cake, angel Medium 67 Croissant Medium 67 Waffles High 76 Doughnut High 76 Beverages Soya milk Low 30 Apple juice Low 41 Carrot juice Low 45 Pineapple juice Low 46 Grapefruit juice Low 48 Orange juice Low 52 Biscuits Digestives Medium 58 Shortbread Medium 64 Water biscuits Medium 65 **Rice cakes High 77 Breads Multi grain bread Low 48 Whole grain Low 50 Pita bread, white Medium 57 Pizza, cheese Medium 60 Hamburger bun Medium 61 Rye-flour bread Medium 64 Whole meal bread Medium 69 White bread High 71 White rolls High 73 Baguette High 95 Breakfast Cereals All-Bran Low 42 Porridge, non instant Low 49 Oat bran Medium 55 Muesli Medium 56 Mini Wheats (wholemeal) Medium 57 Shredded Wheat Medium 69 Golden Grahams High 71 Puffed wheat High 74 Weetabix High 77 Rice Krispies High 82 Cornflakes High 83 Cereal Grains Pearl barley Low 25 Rye Low 34 Wheat kernels Low 41 Rice, instant Low 46 Rice, parboiled Low 48 Barley, cracked Low 50 Rice, brown Medium 55 Rice, wild Medium 57 Rice, white Medium 58 Barley, flakes Medium 66 Taco Shell Medium 68 Millet High 71 Dairy Foods Yogurt low- fat (sweetened) Low 14 Milk, chocolate Low 24 Milk, whole Low 27 Milk, Fat-free Low 32 Milk ,skimmed Low 32 Milk, semi-skimmed Low 34 *Ice-cream (low- fat) Low 50 *Ice-cream Medium 61 Fruits Cherries Low 22 Grapefruit Low 25 Apricots (dried) Low 31 Apples Low 38 Pears Low 38 Plums Low 39 Peaches Low 42 Oranges Low 44 Grapes Low 46 Kiwi fruit Low 53 Bananas Low 54 Fruit cocktail Medium 55 Mangoes Medium 56 Apricots Medium 57 Apricots (tinned in syrup) Medium 64 Raisins Medium 64 Pineapple Medium 66 **Watermelon High 72 Pasta Spaghetti, protein enriched Low 27 Fettuccine Low 32 Vermicelli Low 35 Spaghetti, whole wheat Low 37 Ravioli, meat filled Low 39 Spaghetti, white Low 41 Macaroni Low 45 Spaghetti, durum wheat Medium 55 Macaroni cheese Medium 64 Rice pasta, brown High 92 Root Crop Carrots, cooked Low 39 Yam Low 51 Sweet potato Low 54 Potato, boiled Medium 56 Potato, new Medium 57 Potato, tinned Medium 61 Beetroot Medium 64 Potato, steamed Medium 65 Potato, mashed Medium 70 Chips High 75 Potato, micro waved High 82 Potato, instant High 83 **Potato, baked High 85 Parsnips High 97 Snack Food and Sweets Peanuts Low 15 *M&Ms (peanut) Low 32 *Snickers bar Low 40 *Chocolate bar; 30g Low 49 Jams and marmalades Low 49 *Crisps Low 54 Popcorn Medium 55 Mars bar Medium 64 *Table sugar (sucrose) Medium 65 Corn chips High 74 Jelly beans High 80 Pretzels High 81 Dates High 103 Soups Tomato soup, tinned Low 38 Lentil soup, tinned Low 44 Black bean soup, tinned Medium 64 Green pea soup, tinned Medium 66 Vegetable and Beans Artichoke Low 15 Asparagus Low 15 Broccoli Low 15 Cauliflower Low 15 Celery Low 15 Cucumber Low 15 Eggplant Low 15 Green beans Low 15 Lettuce, all varieties Low 15 Low-fat yogurt, artificially sweetened Low 15 Peppers, all varieties Low 15 Snow peas Low 15 Spinach Low 15 Young summer squash Low 15 Tomatoes Low 15 Zucchini Low 15 Soya beans, boiled Low 16 Peas, dried Low 22 Kidney beans, boiled Low 29 Lentils green, boiled Low 29 Chickpeas Low 33 Haricot beans, boiled Low 38 Black-eyed beans Low 41 Chickpeas, tinned Low 42 Baked beans, tinned Low 48 Kidney beans, tinned Low 52 Lentils green, tinned Low 52 Broad beans High 79

Question: Could someone please give a basic list of low glycemic index food and drink?

Answer: Here is a list: http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm but please go to this other page too: http://www.healthcastle.com/glycemic-index.shtml This second page will show you that the glycemic index is not very accurate because we don't just drink orange juice. We usually have something else with it and miing foods alters the GI.

Question: I've heard people speak of the low glycemic food index.? How do I utilize the index of low glycemic foods? What combintaions work best (protein, carb, milk/dairy, etc) ? Are there comprehensive lists available? What "low glycemic foods" do I avoid? I suspect I'm a borderline diabetic and need help reducing the stress my body is subject to when I don't eat properly.

Answer: Diabetics (like moi) have to watch how much sugar they eat. Normally you say things like "a gram of sugar is a gram of carb" so that's easy to understand. Other foods that contain sugar and carbs have an index- a ratio of how many grams of carbs are in a portion of food. Anything with a nutrition label tells you how many grams of carbs you're eating. (Look at a Coke and realize that's about an entire day's ration of carbs.) Most fruit is less than 100% carb, but you need to know the glycemic index. For example, a 50-gram apple might have 30 grams of carbs or 35 grams. (Depends on the apple, the variety, etc.) For glycemic index to do you any good, you need to know 1) the amount of food you're talking about- like the apple's weight and 2) the index or ratio. If something has a glycemic index of .60, that's a start. You need to know what the weight of your portion is to use the index sensibly.

Question: Is corn considered a low glycemic index food?

Answer: That depends on preparation. A whole cob of corn raw is considered medium low-glycemic. Creamed corn is considered high-glycemic. Interestingly canned corn, not creamed, is also low-glycemic but frozen corn on the cob is very high-glycemic. Most likely because the quality of the corn is compromised by the freezing process allowing the the fibrous parts of the corn to degrade to simple sugars. Now Corn Syrups... especially High Fructose Corn Syrups are ridiculously high-glycemic. This isn't shocking considering the process used to turn corn starch into HFCS involves chemicals, some genetically modified, and funguses to turn something isn't isn't extremely sweet into the cheapest sugar substitute and preservative to ruin your body's ability to regulate insulin ever. :-( Great question! Follow the links below to the corn information page on Nutritiondata.com. Also I have a few links below to information on HFCS and traditional corn syrup fascinating stuff really. I just did a nutritional plan for one of my clients who is diabetic. This information will definitely help me give further advice. I hope that helps.

Question: What kind of foods would I have to eat to be on a low glycemic index diet? I need to lose 10 pounds quick! Would this be a good way?

Answer: Probably as good a way as any to reduce your total calorie intake, which is the only way to lose weight in the first place. Here's a website that has a list: http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_food_diet/glycemic_index.php

Question: Why do certain high protein, low carb foods have low glycemic index but HIGH INSULIN INDEX? This idea perplexes me. Here's a quote from Wikipedia that I am having trouble grasping: "Rather than relying on blood glucose levels, the Insulin Index is based upon the insulin response to various foods, and seems to be more promising than either the Glycemic Index or the Glycemic Load. The primary reason for this is that certain foods (e.g., lean meats and proteins) seem to cause an insulin response despite there being no carbohydrates present. Additionally, other foods seem to cause a disproportinate insulin reaction for its carbohydrate load."

Answer: I don't know it's confusing to me too. this site seems to be good. http://www.foreverfit.biz/insulin_index.htm

Question: How can I curb my appetite for sugar? I've tried the lower glycemic index foods. I am diabetic.? I love chocolate! I've lost 130 pounds (10 of which I gained back because I have trouble controlling my eating habits).

Answer: You're probably very sugar-sensitive. There's a program you can follow to break you addiction. http://www.radiantrecovery.com/index.html

Question: why do foods with a low glycemic index (G.I) help you lose weight? Thanks xxxxx How? And why is it good to eat these foods xx

Answer: low glycemic foods are better for you in general, they tend to be whole foods like fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. they are high in fiber and other nutrients which cause them to not spike your blood sugar levels. they can also help you feel more full and therefore not eat as much.

Question: If you base your diet on foods that have a low glycemic index, will you lose excess weight?

Answer: Sean is quite right. Also, the glycemic index has nothing to do with how your body uses the sugars available from the carbohydrate you eat. If you eat more energy-food (carbohydrates and lipids/fats) than you use for your level of exercise then the extra is stored as fat. For reliable medical/scientific advice look here:

Question: List of foods with a low glycemic index?

Answer: Fruits apples (40) banana (51) Ok Green blueberries cherries (22) grapefruit (25) green grapes (43) orange (51) pears (33) plums (24) prunes (29) raspberries tomatoes Vegetables asparagus beans (all) broccoli cabbage carrots garden beans garlic kidney beans lettuce mushrooms onions peas peppers spinach squash bitter melon Drinks unsweetened tea Bread Pumpernickel (51) Other food barley wheat dairy products egg noodles eggs meat nuts steelcut slow-cooked oatmeal seeds fructose (if crystalized or processed it still causes other health problems)