This post is in response to a comment where someone asked me how we can calculate the GI of various kinds of food. That's a good question and I wish I had a purely quantitative answer. I am afraid calculating GI is not as straightforward as counting calories. The link I'm giving below is a good place to start and has gi and gl
values for many common foods, but what happens is every variable has its own
effect on GI, so we cannot take this list as a bible.
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
Here are some simple things to keep in mind for selecting low GI foods and for lowering the GIs of high GI foods:
1. Undercook rather than overcook. If a food is pasty, it's probably high gi. This applies to pasta, rice, noodles and just about any boiled starch
2. Eat a starch cold rather than right off the stove. In fact putting something in the fridge and then letting it warm back up to room temperature is a great way to reduce GI
3. Add something acidic like lemon juice, vinegar, etc. This lowers GI
4. Pick a higher fiber option or add fiber through vegetables. Strangely enough not all high-fiber foods are low GI, because, as I said, many variables affect GI.
5. Replace some portion of a high GI cereal with a low GI cereal. For example, add whole moong dal to rice or besan to rotis.
6. Pick larger particle sizes. Daliya instead of atta, for example.
7.Add a small quantity of ghee, butter or cheese, but please don't overdo it :)
8.Avoid pasty or mashed starches.
9. Pick firm fruit rather than overripe fruit.
10. Avoid eating a lot of starch in one meal. This takes some training. You have to teach your stomach to fill up on the veggies and the dals and get used to a lower quantity of rice/roti. 150 grams of rice (which is just one tea cup full) or 2-2.5 rotis is the upper limit if you want to keep your blood sugar stable.
Note: BTW, some good news. One of the most common varieties of rice we eat in India called Sona Mahsuri is not very high GI. So as long as you limit the quantity of rice you eat at one time to about a 150 gms, you should be able to eat rice. Basmati is not too bad either, but Sona Mahsuri is better.
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
Here are some simple things to keep in mind for selecting low GI foods and for lowering the GIs of high GI foods:
1. Undercook rather than overcook. If a food is pasty, it's probably high gi. This applies to pasta, rice, noodles and just about any boiled starch
2. Eat a starch cold rather than right off the stove. In fact putting something in the fridge and then letting it warm back up to room temperature is a great way to reduce GI
3. Add something acidic like lemon juice, vinegar, etc. This lowers GI
4. Pick a higher fiber option or add fiber through vegetables. Strangely enough not all high-fiber foods are low GI, because, as I said, many variables affect GI.
5. Replace some portion of a high GI cereal with a low GI cereal. For example, add whole moong dal to rice or besan to rotis.
6. Pick larger particle sizes. Daliya instead of atta, for example.
7.Add a small quantity of ghee, butter or cheese, but please don't overdo it :)
8.Avoid pasty or mashed starches.
9. Pick firm fruit rather than overripe fruit.
10. Avoid eating a lot of starch in one meal. This takes some training. You have to teach your stomach to fill up on the veggies and the dals and get used to a lower quantity of rice/roti. 150 grams of rice (which is just one tea cup full) or 2-2.5 rotis is the upper limit if you want to keep your blood sugar stable.
Note: BTW, some good news. One of the most common varieties of rice we eat in India called Sona Mahsuri is not very high GI. So as long as you limit the quantity of rice you eat at one time to about a 150 gms, you should be able to eat rice. Basmati is not too bad either, but Sona Mahsuri is better.
