Carbohydrates & Glycemic Index

Carbohydrates & Glycemic Index (GI)

People with diabetes are advised to include carbohydrate foods in their eating plan as they provide the body with energy. Carbohydrates are broken down in the intestine and enter the blood stream as glucose. For optimal blood glucose control, it is important to have regular meals each day and always eat breakfast. This will help to prevent large rises and falls in your blood glucose level.

Carbohydrate foods include

Bread
Rice
Pasta
Grains
Cereals
Legumes such as beans, lentils and chickpeas
Starchy vegetables such as potato, sweet potato and corn
Fruit and fruit juices
Milk and yoghurt
Biscuits and cakes
Sugar

Not all carbohydrate foods are the same. Some are digested and enter the blood stream more quickly than others. This is due to the type of carbohydrate or other nutrients in the food, such as fibre, fat and protein. How quickly or slowly foods raise the blood glucose level is referred to as their ‘Glycemic Index’ (GI). Including low glycemic foods in your eating plan can help to control blood glucose levels. The GI can be a guide to which foods are better choices. However, the GI is not the only answer and other ingredients, such as saturated fat content need to be looked at too.

A dietitian can explain to you how to use the GI to help you control your diabetes. There are also many books available to read.