Eating Low GI Food is Healthier and Better for You

Sticking to a Low GI Diet isn’t hard to do and incorporating it into our everyday life is even easier! “How can I do that?, and what is a Low GI Diet?” you might be asking. Well today we are here to get the basic, easy and most understandable answer to this often asked question.

Essentially a Low GI diet means eating more fruit and vegetables and cutting down on foods that are high in saturated fats. An easy way toknow if you are eating a low GI meal is when you look at your plate (your meal should be a standard serving) it should be divided into three parts, one quarter meat, one quarter carbs and one half vegetables.

“Why?” you ask.

It’s simple, when you eat low GI foods like fruits and vegetables, your body has a much more consistent level of blood glucose (sugar) over a longer period of time. This means that your energy levels last longer and you don’t get that big sugar rush that makes you feel sleepy and tired after a short period time.

When you eat, the sugar in food cause your liver to produce insulin. Insulin stores the nutrients from your food so that you have energy in between eating. High GI foods makes the body produce excessive insulin levels, which causes you to have higher levels of energy than necessary (and make you feel more hungry as they do not help to sustain your appetite). If you do not lead a consistently active lifestyle to burn of the excess energy off, the high levels of insulin will cause you to gain weight. The more overweight you are, the greater the effect the high insulin levels will have on you.

Now that you have a basic understanding of a Low GI diet, this means that you can create a balanced eating guide to help you lose weight, or keep an already healthy figure trim. But just because your eating healthy does not mean that you have to give up eating all your favorite sweet, like any diet a Low GI eating plan lets you incorporate a well deserved treat. Just remember to make an effort to get up and have a walk around the block afterward to help your body process that extra energy. Sticking to a Low GI diet will lower your chances of developing diabetes, lower the risk of heart disease and keep you feeling terrific.

GI foods are rated with a number from 1 -100 with high GI foods generally rated over 70, medium GI foods around 50 – 60 and low GI foods less than 50. Learn more about Eating a Low GI Diet.

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