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The Glycemic Index What Is High And Low On GI ?

Glycemic index

​It doesn’t matter whether you’re planning a meal or a snack, it’s always wise to focus on foods that are low on the Glycemic index. What is considered high and what is low on the Glycemic index? According to WebMD, anything 70 or higher is high, 55 and less is low.

The smaller the number, the less impact the food has on your blood sugar.

  • 55 or less = Low (good)
  • ​56- 69 = Medium
  • ​70 or higher = High (bad)

The numbers in between are on the middle ground. The Glycemic index will serve as a useful guide that will help you measure just how quickly your body turns your foods into glucose.

Unless you are hypoglycemic or diabetic you don’t need to memorize it. However, it’s helpful to have a good idea of where the foods that you fill your diet with fall on the index.

For example, white rice and white bread are high Glycemic index foods, as are the majority of cereals.

​Foods that are low on the Glycemic index include whole grains, eggs, vegetables, nuts, meat, and milk. When you focus on those low Glycemic index foods, you’re going to get the greatest benefit from them energy wise.

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You can find more detailed numbers on your favorite foods from Harvard on the bottom.

Eat Often

​In an ideal world, you should eat every few hours. That doesn’t mean you’re sitting down to giant meals three times a day.

You need helpful high protein snacks with complex carbs. Boiled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, protein bars, tuna, fruit, trail mix, etc. are all fantastic examples of high-protein snacks.

Glycemic index 2Glycemic index 2

​​Enjoy apple slices with your favorite nut butter and you’re getting a healthy hit that also happens to be downright delicious.

If you work a job that doesn’t allow you the breaks to fit those snacks in, choose snacks that you can eat without leaving your work station.

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​Hydrate More

​When people talk about hydration it’s easy to immediately conjure up an image of someone wandering in the desert, seeing mirages of hydration in the distance.

There is more to dehydration than that. If you experience muscle pain, feel fatigued, your focus is slightly off or you often experience headaches, then there’s a good chance you need to drink some water.

There are plenty of dangers to not drinking enough water. The only drawback to drinking too much water is that you’ll need to visit the bathroom more often.

Drinking more water doesn’t need to be a complicated issue. The first step is buying a water bottle that is BPA free and handy to carry with you at all times.

The biggest difference between you drinking enough water and not is having it on hand.

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Glycemic index drink waterGlycemic index drink water

​It really is as simple as that. You can download an app that will help you keep track of your water, but there are also habits that you can create to help you get it done.

You can set a timer, you can grab a glass of water every time you go to the bathroom, etc.

 There are other benefits to drinking more water – when you are drinking more water, you are likely to be drinking even less unhealthy fluids.

Glycemic index for 60+ foods

Measuring carbohydrate effects can help glucose management

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Harvard Health Publishing

FOODGlycemic index (glucose = 100)
HIGH-CARBOHYDRATE FOODS
White wheat bread*75 ± 2
Whole wheat/whole meal bread74 ± 2
Specialty grain bread53 ± 2
Unleavened wheat bread70 ± 5
Wheat roti62 ± 3
Chapatti52 ± 4
Corn tortilla46 ± 4
White rice, boiled*73 ± 4
Brown rice, boiled68 ± 4
Barley28 ± 2
Sweet corn52 ± 5
Spaghetti, white49 ± 2
Spaghetti, whole meal48 ± 5
Rice noodles†53 ± 7
Udon noodles55 ± 7
Couscous†65 ± 4
BREAKFAST CEREALS
Cornflakes81 ± 6
Wheat flake biscuits69 ± 2
Porridge, rolled oats55 ± 2
Instant oat porridge79 ± 3
Rice porridge/congee78 ± 9
Millet porridge67 ± 5
Muesli57 ± 2
FRUIT AND FRUIT PRODUCTS
Apple, raw†36 ± 2
Orange, raw†43 ± 3
Banana, raw†51 ± 3
Pineapple, raw59 ± 8
Mango, raw†51 ± 5
Watermelon, raw76 ± 4
Dates, raw42 ± 4
Peaches, canned†43 ± 5
Strawberry jam/jelly49 ± 3
Apple juice41 ± 2
Orange juice50 ± 2
VEGETABLES
Potato, boiled78 ± 4
Potato, instant mash87 ± 3
Potato, french fries63 ± 5
Carrots, boiled39 ± 4
Sweet potato, boiled63 ± 6
Pumpkin, boiled64 ± 7
Plantain/green banana55 ± 6
Taro, boiled53 ± 2
Vegetable soup48 ± 5
DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVES
Milk, full fat39 ± 3
Milk, skim37 ± 4
Ice cream51 ± 3
Yogurt, fruit41 ± 2
Soy milk34 ± 4
Rice milk86 ± 7
LEGUMES
Chickpeas28 ± 9
Kidney beans24 ± 4
Lentils32 ± 5
Soya beans16 ± 1
SNACK PRODUCTS
Chocolate40 ± 3
Popcorn65 ± 5
Potato crisps56 ± 3
Soft drink/soda59 ± 3
Rice crackers/crisps87 ± 2
SUGARS
Fructose15 ± 4
Sucrose65 ± 4
Glucose103 ± 3
Honey61 ± 3
Data are means ± SEM.

* Low-GI varieties were also identified.

† Average of all available data.

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