Understanding Low GI
Our blood sugar levels look a bit like a roller coaster with ups and downs over the course of a day. The highs that follow meals, drop to lows later on. Extreme spikes - ups and downs - are not healthy for the body’s tissues.
Low GI foods are foods that get converted into sugar slowly by our bodies, reducing the risk of sudden and dangerous spikes in blood sugar. Low GI foods help reduce the risk of diabetes, obesity, and cholesterol for all family members. And they are highly recommended for diabetics and pre-diabetics.
The technical measure for the rate at which our body breaks down carbs and releases them in our blood as sugar is called as Glycemic Index (GI). Foods with a GI below 55 are Low-GI Foods.
Proven for Sugar Control
Unlike regular rice, atta, and poha, Sugar Watchers Low GI products release sugar into the body in a slow and steady manner, preventing sudden and dangerous spikes in blood sugar. A recent Cochrane review found that low GI diets can help people with diabetes reduce their HbA1C by 0.5%. This will help decrease the risk of common diabetic complications by ~20%.
Proven for Weight Management
Low GI foods break down carbs in the food gradually. This helps you feel fuller and satisfied for longer. The less hungry you feel, the less you eat and the better it is for weight control.
Proven for General Health
Science shows that a low Gi diet reduces the risk of developing significant health problems. It helps reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease, manage Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), fuel the body for sustained energy, increase physical performance by extending endurance and improve concentration.
Endorsed by the World’s Leading Health Publications
“Choosing low-GI foods in place of conventional or high-GI foods has a clinically useful effect on medium-term glycemic control in patients with diabetes. The incremental benefit is similar to that offered by pharmacological agents that also target postprandial hyperglycemia” Diabetes Care 26:2261–2267, 2003
“Eating foods with a low Glycemic Index may help you to:
Control your blood glucose level
Control your cholesterol level
Control your appetite
Lower your risk of developing heart disease
Lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes”
“People with type 1 diabetes and even some with type 2 can't produce sufficient quantities of insulin— which helps process blood sugar— which means they are likely to have an excess of blood glucose. The slow and steady release of glucose in low-glycemic foods is helpful in keeping blood glucose under control” Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School.
“If you need to lose weight and keep it off, incorporating low GI, higher protein foods into your diet can help you achieve this. Foods with a low GI (GI ≤ 55) release glucose into the bloodstream at a slow sustainable rate, and have proven benefits for health” Glycemic Index Foundation, Australia.
