Foods to Eat on a Low-GI Diet

There’s no need to count calories or track your protein, fat or carbs on the
low-GI diet.

Instead, a low-GI diet involves swapping high-GI foods for low-GI

alternatives.

There are plenty of healthy and nutritious foods to choose from. You should
base your diet on the following low-GI foods:

 Bread: Whole grain, multigrain, rye and sourdough varieties

 Breakfast cereals: Porridge made with rolled oats, bircher muesli

and All-Bran

 Fruit: Such as apples, strawberries, apricots, peaches, plums, pears

and kiwi

 Vegetables: Such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, tomatoes

and zucchini

 Starchy vegetables: Carisma and Nicola potato varieties, sweet

potatoes with an orange flesh, corn, yams

 Legumes: Examples include lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, butter

beans, kidney beans

 Pasta and noodles: Pasta, soba noodles, vermicelli noodles, rice

noodles

 Rice: Basmati, Doongara, long-grain and brown rice

 Grains: Quinoa, barley, pearl couscous, buckwheat, freekeh,

semolina

 Dairy: Milk, cheese, yogurt, custard, soy milk, almond milk

The following foods contain few or no carbohydrates and therefore do not
have a GI value. These foods can be included as part of a low-GI diet:

 Meat: Including beef, chicken, pork, lamb and eggs

 Fish and seafood: Examples include salmon, trout, tuna, sardines

and prawns

 Nuts: Such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts and

macadamia nuts

 Fats and oils: Including olive oil, rice bran oil, butter and margarine

 Herbs and spices: Such as salt, pepper, garlic, basil and dill

To search for foods not found on this list, use this GI search tool.

SUMMARY:The low-GI diet involves swapping high-GI foods for low-GI

alternatives. For a balanced diet, consume low-GI options from each of the
food groups.

Foods to Avoid on a Low-GI Diet

Nothing is strictly banned on the low-GI diet.
However, try to replace these high-GI foods with low-GI alternatives as
much as possible.

 Bread: White bread, Turkish bread, bagels, naan bread, French

baguettes, Lebanese bread

 Breakfast cereals: Instant oats, Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, Cocoa

Krispies, Froot Loops

 Starchy vegetables: Désirée and Red Pontiac potatoes, instant

mashed potatoes

 Pasta and noodles: Corn pasta and instant noodles

 Rice: Jasmine, Arborio (used in risotto), Calrose and medium-grain

white rice

 Dairy replacements: Rice milk and oat milk

 Fruit: Watermelon

 Savory snacks: Rice crackers, corn thins, rice cakes, pretzels, corn
chips

 Cakes and biscuits: Scones, doughnuts, cupcakes, cookies,

waffles, pikelets

 Extras: Jelly beans, licorice, Gatorade, Lucozade

A Sample Low-GI Menu for 1
Week
This sample menu shows what a week on a low-GI diet might look like.
Feel free to adjust this based on your own needs and preferences.

Monday

 Breakfast: Oatmeal made with rolled oats, milk and chopped fresh
fruit
 Lunch: Chicken sandwich on whole grain bread, served with a salad
 Dinner: Beef stir-fry with vegetables, served with long-grain rice

Tuesday

 Breakfast: Whole grain toast with avocado, tomato and smoked

salmon
 Lunch: Minestrone soup with a slice of whole grain bread
 Dinner: Grilled fish served with steamed broccoli and green beans

Wednesday

 Breakfast: Omelet with mushrooms, spinach, tomato and cheese

 Lunch: Try these salmon, ricotta and quinoa cups with a salad
 Dinner: Homemade pizzas made with whole wheat Lebanese bread

Thursday

 Breakfast: A smoothie with berries, milk, Greek yogurt and

cinnamon
 Lunch: Chicken pasta salad made with whole wheat pasta
  Dinner: Homemade burgers with beef patties and vegetables on
whole wheat rolls

Friday

 Breakfast: Quinoa porridge with apple and cinnamon

 Lunch: Toasted tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat bread
 Dinner: Chicken and chickpea curry with basmati rice

Saturday

 Breakfast: Eggs with smoked salmon and tomatoes on whole grain

toast
 Lunch: Egg and lettuce whole grain wrap
 Dinner: Grilled lamb chops with greens and mashed pumpkin

Sunday

 Breakfast: Buckwheat pancakes with berries

 Lunch: Brown rice and tuna salad
 Dinner: Beef meatballs served with vegetables and brown rice
Healthy Low-GI Snacks
If you find yourself hungry between meals, here are a few healthy low-GI
snack ideas:

 A handful of unsalted nuts

 A piece of fruit
 Carrot sticks with hummus
 A cup of berries or grapes
 Greek yogurt
 Apple slices with almond butter or peanut butter
 A hard-boiled egg
 Leftovers from the night before
 How Many Carbs Should
You Eat If You Have
Diabetes?
 Diabetes basics

 Food & blood sugar

 Carb restriction

 Foods to avoid

 Other diets

 Optimal carb intake

 Bottom line
Figuring out how many carbs to eat when you have diabetes can seem
confusing.

Dietary guidelines from around the globe traditionally recommend that you
get around 45–60% of your daily calories from carbs if you have diabetes
(1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).

However, a growing number of experts believe that people with diabetes

should eat far fewer carbs. In fact, many recommend less than half of this
amount.

How does food affect blood

sugar levels?
Many factors, including exercise, stress, and illness, affect your blood
sugar levels.

That said, one of the largest factors is what you eat.

Of the three macronutrients — carbs, protein, and fat — carbs have the
greatest effect on blood sugar. That’s because your body breaks down
carbs into sugar, which enters your bloodstream.

This occurs with all carbs, such as refined sources like chips and cookies,
as well as healthy types like fruits and vegetables.

However, whole foods contain fiber. Unlike starch and sugar, naturally
occurring fiber does not raise blood sugar levels and may even slow this
rise.

When people with diabetes eat foods high in digestible carbs, their blood
sugar levels can surge. High carb intake typically requires high doses of
insulin or diabetes medication to control blood sugar.

Because they’re unable to produce insulin, people with type 1 diabetes

need to inject insulin several times a day, regardless of what they eat.
However, eating fewer carbs can significantly reduce their mealtime insulin
dosage.

Very low-carb, ketogenic diets

Very-low-carb diets typically induce mild to moderate ketosis, a state in

which your body uses ketones and fat, rather than sugar, as its main
energy sources.

Ketosis usually occurs at a daily intake of fewer than 50 or 30 grams of

total or digestible carbs (total carbs minus fiber), respectively. This equates
to no more than 10% of calories on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Very-low-carb, ketogenic diets have been prescribed for people with
diabetes even before insulin was discovered in 1921 (7Trusted Source).

Several studies indicate that restricting carb intake to 20–50 grams of carbs
per day can significantly reduce blood sugar levels, promote weight loss,
and improve heart health in people with diabetes (8Trusted
Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source, 12Trusted
Source, 13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source, 15Trusted
Source, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).

In addition, these improvements often occur very quickly.

For instance, in a study in obese people with diabetes, limiting carbs to 21

grams per day for 2 weeks led to a spontaneous decrease in calorie intake,
lower blood sugar levels, and a 75% increase in insulin sensitivity
(16Trusted Source).

In a small, 3-month study, people consumed a calorie-restricted, low-fat

diet or a low-carb diet containing up to 50 grams of carbs per day.

The low-carb group averaged a 0.6% decrease in HbA1c and lost over
twice as much weight as the low-fat group. What’s more, 44% of them
discontinued at least one diabetes medication, compared with 11% of the
low-fat group (17Trusted Source).

In fact, in several studies, insulin and other diabetes medications have

been reduced or discontinued due to improvements in blood sugar control
(8Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13Trusted
Source, 15Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).

Diets containing 20–50 grams of carbs have also been shown to lower
blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of disease in people with
prediabetes (17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source).

In a small, 12-week study, obese men with prediabetes ate a

Mediterranean diet limited to 30 grams of carbs per day. Their fasting blood
sugar dropped to 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L), on average, which is well within the
normal range (19Trusted Source).

In addition, the men lost an impressive 32 pounds (14.5 kg), on average,

and experienced significant reductions in triglycerides, cholesterol, and
blood pressure, among other benefits (19Trusted Source).

Importantly, these men no longer met the criteria for metabolic syndrome
due to reductions in blood sugar, weight, and other health markers.

Although concerns have been raised that higher protein intake on low-carb
diets may lead to kidney problems, a recent 12-month study found that
very-low-carb intake did not increase the risk of kidney disease (20Trusted
Source).

Low-carb diets

Many low-carb diets restrict carbs to 50–100 grams, or 10–20% of calories,

per day.

Although there are very few studies on carb restriction in people with type 1
diabetes, those that exist have reported impressive results (21Trusted
Source, 22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).

In a long-term study in people with type 1 diabetes who restricted carbs to

70 grams per day, participants saw their HbA1c drop from 7.7% to 6.4%,
on average. What’s more, their HbA1c levels remained the same 4 years
later (22Trusted Source).

A 1.3% reduction in HbA1c is a significant change to maintain over several

years, particularly in those with type 1 diabetes.

One of the biggest concerns for people with type 1 diabetes is

hypoglycemia, or blood sugar that drops to dangerously low levels.
In a 12-month study, adults with type 1 diabetes who restricted daily carb
intake to fewer than 90 grams had 82% fewer episodes of low blood sugar
than before they started the diet (23Trusted Source).

People with type 2 diabetes may also benefit from limiting their daily carb
intake (24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source, 26Trusted Source).

In a small, 5-week study, men with type 2 diabetes who consumed a high-
protein, high-fiber diet with 20% of its calories from carbs experienced a
29% reduction in fasting blood sugar, on average (25Trusted Source).

Moderate-carb diets

A more moderate-carb diet may provide 100–150 grams of digestible

carbs, or 20–35% of calories, per day.

A few studies examining such diets have reported good results in people
with diabetes (27Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source).

In a 12-month study in 259 people with type 2 diabetes, those who followed
a Mediterranean diet providing 35% or fewer calories from carbs
experienced a significant reduction in HbA1c — from 8.3% to 6.3% — on
average (28Trusted Source).

Finding the right range

Research has confirmed that many levels of carb restriction

effectively lower blood sugar levels.

Since carbs raise blood sugar, reducing them to any extent can help control
your levels.

For instance, if you're currently consuming about 250 grams of carbs per
day, reducing your intake to 150 grams should result in significantly lower
blood sugar after meals.
That said, a severely restricted intake of 20–50 grams of carbs per day
appears to produce the most dramatic results, going so far as to reduce or
even eliminate the need for insulin or diabetes medication.
 MEAL FOODS TO EAT

Early Options:

Morning  Warm water with lemon juice.

 Bitter gourd juice.

Breakfast Options:

 1 piece of brown bread with boiled egg whites + 1 cup green tea.

 2 small parathas (without ghee or butter) with 1 cup curd

 Ragi flakes with one cup of milk

Pre-Lunch Options:

 Cucumber, tomato, carrot, and beetroot salad. Add a dash of lime, and garnish with

coriander leaves and a few mint leaves.

 1 apple

Lunch Options:

 2 medium-sized chapatis with ½ cup rajma/ chole + 1 cup okra curry/ any other vegetable

curry

 3 oz baked fish + veggies

Evening Evening Snacks Green tea without sugar or artificial sweeteners. You can have one small bowl of

Snacks bhel puri or baked snacks.

Dinner Options:

 2 medium-sized chapatis, any vegetable curry (any type of gourd, brinjal, capsicum, etc.)

except root vegetables, and 1 small bowl of curd

 Chicken stew, 2 small chapatis, and 1 small bowl of curd

Before Bed 1 glass of warm milk with a pinch of raw ground turmeric

NORTHERN

MEAL FOODS TO EAT

 Early Options:

Morning  Warm water with lemon juice.

 Apple cider vinegar and warm water.

 Bitter gourd juice

Breakfast Options:

 1 small bowl of flaked rice with milk and banana (without sugar)

 1 slice of toasted wheat bread, milk, and one boiled egg white

 1 medium bowl of ragi flakes with milk

Pre-Lunch Options:

 1 apple or orange or papaya

Lunch Options:

 2 medium-sized chapatis with 1/2 cup vegetables such as peas, cauliflower, capsicum,

any gourd, green beans, etc. and 1 cup daal.

 Fish curry, ½ cup rice, ½ cup vegetable curry, and cucumber and tomato salad.

Evening Options:

Snacks  Masala puffed rice and green tea

 Green tea and two digestive biscuits.

Dinner Options:

 2 chapatis, ½ cup chicken stew, and ½ cup vegetable curry + ½ cup yogurt

 2 chapatis, ½ cup vegetable curry, ½ cup daal + ½ cup yogurt

Before Bed 1 glass of warm milk

 MEAL FOODS TO EAT

Early Morning Options:

 Green tea with lemon.

 1 cup warm water with lime juice

 Bitter gourd juice

Breakfast Options:

 2-3 idlis with chutney and sambar (use less salt)

 2 dosas with chutney and sambar (use less salt)

 1 small bowl of upma with chutney

Pre-Lunch 1 apple

Lunch Options:

 ½ cup brown rice, 1 cup sambar with lots of vegetables, 1 bowl of curd.

 ½ cup brown rice, 1 cup vegetable curry, ½ cup fish or chicken stew, 1 bowl of curd.

Evening Snacks Options:

 Green tea with roasted flaked rice with curry leaves and chopped garlic

 Black coffee and ¼ cup homemade snacks

Dinner Options:

 Vegetable clear soup or chicken and veg clear soup and two chapatis.

 Mix vegetable curry, two chapatis, and curd.

Before Bed 1 glass of buttermilk

 MEAL FOODS TO EAT

Early Morning Options:

 Lime, honey, and warm water detox drink

 Green tea with lime juice

 Bitter gourd juice

Breakfast Options:

 Rice poha and 1 glass of fruit juice.

 Ragi poha and 1 cup green tea

Pre-Lunch 1 cup cucumber

Lunch Options:

 2 chapatis, 1 cup vegetable curry, 1 cup daal

 3 oz steamed or baked fish/chicken, ½ cup rice, 1 cup vegetable curry

Evening Snacks Options:

 Green tea and 1 digestive biscuit

Dinner Options:

 1 cup vegetable curry, 2 chapatis, 1 cup daal, and curd

 Fish curry or chicken curry, 2 chapatis, ½ cup vegetable curry, and cucumber salad

Before Bed 1 glass of warm milk