Why Foods with a Low Glycemic Index Matter to Your Health
Foods with a low glycemic index are important to your health. The GI number of each food allows you to keep track of the amount of carbohydrates you are eating, which directly affects the amount of sugar your body is processing. The glycemic index of a food containing carbohydrates is a gauge of how much it raises blood glucose level compared to pure glucose, which is assigned a glycemic index value of 100. You can find a full list of foods and their glycemic index value at www.glycemicindex.com. According to the GI Group of the University of Sydney, in Australia, a glycemic index value of 70 or higher is considered high, 56-69 is considered medium, and 55 or lower is considered low.
There are specifics around how each individual person processes carbohydrates, which could raise or lower the actual values slightly. Generally, the list below shows the typical glycemic index for several popular foods.
- Ezekiel 4:9 Bread - 36
- Whole Milk - 34
- Doughnut, wheat dough, deep-fried - 75
- Soft Drink - 63
- Banana Smoothie Drink - 30
- Chocolate Chip Cookie - 43
- Apple - 40
- Ripe Banana (Yellow) - 51
- Orange - 40
- Pineapple - 66
- Raisins - 64
- Orange Juice - 46
- Cashew Nuts - 25
- Peanuts - 23
- Kidney Beans - 46
- White Boiled Spaghetti - 45
- Boiled Macaroni - 56
- Sweet corn - 55
- Baked Potato - 69
- White Rice Cooked in Rice Cooker - 86
Carbohydrates convert to sugar in the body which is either used for energy or stored as fat. Eating foods with a high glycemic index adds more sugar to your body, and should generally be avoided for optimum health. Typically, a low glycemic diet is closely related to a low carbohydrate diet. Avoiding foods with white color, like white rice, white breads, cakes, cookies, white pasta, etc. should be avoided. This not only helps with reducing the amount of sugar you eat, it will most likely help with weight control.
Some Great Foods with a Low Glycemic Index
A lot of us have to start eating foods with a low glycemic index for our health but these types of foods aren't always easy to find. There are more companies starting to focus on creating foods that are low glycemic, but it's always a bonus to find great tasting and nutritious food that fits this need. Food for Life has several breads that have been tested and have a low glycemic index. Their Ezekiel 4:9 breads, pastas, and cereals are all low glycemic. In fact, the Ezekiel 4:9 bread has a Glycemic Index of 36. Because of the low glycemic number, it's a healthy choice for all your recipes.
Food for Life's low glycemic index breads, pastas, and cereals are all natural and made up of organic ingredients. There are never any chemicals, preservatives, GMO's (genetically modified organisms) or anything artificial used in Food for Life products. The healthy low glycemic foods from Food for Life taste great and help you lower the amount of sugar you take in through carbohydrates. Learn more about the variety of Food for Life breads, pastas, and cereals you can get today and start eating healthier low glycemic index foods.