Nitisha
Low GL
Hello. I would like to lose 2-3 kg. I heard about low GL diets. I am thinking about following one of these diets, even though my pancreas works fine. Would that cause me any harm?
Tony Diaz
1
votes(Highest rated answer)
Hello Nitisha,
Low Glucose Load diets are a healthy option as that prevents you from having high blood glucose levels, which can cause diseases such as Diabetes. The main characteristic of this diets are the high content of fibre and the presence of food with low GL.
However, there are some foods with medium-high GL that you shouldn't remove completely from your diet, such as boiled carrots and potatoes or rice.
Low Glucose Load diets are a healthy option as that prevents you from having high blood glucose levels, which can cause diseases such as Diabetes. The main characteristic of this diets are the high content of fibre and the presence of food with low GL.
However, there are some foods with medium-high GL that you shouldn't remove completely from your diet, such as boiled carrots and potatoes or rice.
Elizabeth Cooper
0
votes
Hi Nitisha, thank you for your question. Following a low GL diet is not harmful, in fact it can be beneficial to health, providing you are still including a good range of nutrients in your diet. GL stands for Glycaemic Load and can be worked out by multiplying the Glycaemic Index (GI) by the amount of carbohydrate in a serving and then dividing by 100. So in order to understand the GL we need to understand the GI, which is a way of ranking foods based on how quickly 50g of that food is digested and absorbed in comparison to 50g of glucose. There are several factors which affect the GI, including:
a. how ripe a food is, because a ripened food has less starch and more sugar than an un-ripened food, so is more quickly absorbed.
b. cooking a food, as this can change the composition of the food and make it more easily absorbable.
High GI foods have a GI of 70 or over and include parsnips (97), white rice (87), rice cakes (87), cornflakes (80), Weetabix (74), jacket potato (85), baguette (95) and watermelon (72).
Medium GI foods have a GI of between 56 and 69, and include bananas (58), pineapple (66), beetroot (64), porridge oats (63), ice cream (62), honey (58), baked beans (56).
Low GI foods, which have a GI of 55 or less, include coconut milk (41), lentils (30), walnuts (15), hummus (6), broccoli (10) and cherries (22).
So, although watermelon has a high GI it can have a low GL because it has a small amount of carbohydrate (6g) per serving.
If we follow a low GL diet we are reducing the amount of carbohydrate in our diet and the carbohydrates we eat tend to be healthier such as wholegrains, pulses and vegetables. This can keep our blood sugar levels down and reduce our risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and other health conditions. If you would like to follow a low GL diet Nitisha then there are some good resources out there that can help you plan what to eat whilst still including everything you need to maintain good health.
a. how ripe a food is, because a ripened food has less starch and more sugar than an un-ripened food, so is more quickly absorbed.
b. cooking a food, as this can change the composition of the food and make it more easily absorbable.
High GI foods have a GI of 70 or over and include parsnips (97), white rice (87), rice cakes (87), cornflakes (80), Weetabix (74), jacket potato (85), baguette (95) and watermelon (72).
Medium GI foods have a GI of between 56 and 69, and include bananas (58), pineapple (66), beetroot (64), porridge oats (63), ice cream (62), honey (58), baked beans (56).
Low GI foods, which have a GI of 55 or less, include coconut milk (41), lentils (30), walnuts (15), hummus (6), broccoli (10) and cherries (22).
So, although watermelon has a high GI it can have a low GL because it has a small amount of carbohydrate (6g) per serving.
If we follow a low GL diet we are reducing the amount of carbohydrate in our diet and the carbohydrates we eat tend to be healthier such as wholegrains, pulses and vegetables. This can keep our blood sugar levels down and reduce our risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and other health conditions. If you would like to follow a low GL diet Nitisha then there are some good resources out there that can help you plan what to eat whilst still including everything you need to maintain good health.
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