Know Glycemic Index of Indian Foods for Diabetes Reversal: non-pharmacological management of Diabetes

Posted On March 14, 2020August 11, 2023

Introduction

Diabetes cases have been increasing in recent times. In India, the major culprit of diabetes is to consuming refined carbohydrates. So, it is essential to understand the glycemic index of Indian foods. 

Carbohydrates are considered a base of Indian foods. They are powerful stimulants for insulin secretion that causes insulin resistance.

We all know that insulin resistance is the main reason for developing diabetes. 

Should we stop eating carbohydrates? 

Everyone needs carbohydrates, but it doesn’t mean we should eat anything in our food.

Our body is designed to eat good and healthy nutrients. 

All carbohydrates are not similar. Some are a good source of carbs, and some are bad carbs. 

Good carbs are also called complex carbohydrates, whereas bad carbs are called simple carbohydrates.

Simple carbohydrates are easily digestible and absorbable, which spikes your blood sugar level. On the contrary, complex carbohydrates are slowly digestible and absorbable that do not spike your blood sugar level. 

A glycemic index is a tool that tells what else carbohydrate makes your blood sugar rise or decrease. 

Using the glycemic index, you can find your best carbohydrate to control diabetes. 

Therefore, it is essential to know everything about glycemic index, and we should also understand what low glycemic index of Indian foods that controls diabetes mellitus. 

Let the article be started. 

What does glycemic index mean, and why is it important in Diabetes? 

A Glycemic index (GI) is basically a ranking system of our carbohydrates that describes how quickly your food will influence your blood sugar level. 

Let me explain in a nutshell.

The GI does not present in fat and protein. It is present in carbohydrates, giving information only about carbohydrate food. 

Whatever we eat carbohydrates in our daily routine, it gets converted into glucose. Eventually, we get energy in the form of ATP.

Those carbohydrates are quickly digested and absorbed; they shoot up your blood sugar, which is bad for diabetes mellitus. 

While some carbohydrates are good for diabetes and they do not spike your blood sugar level.

This GI tool gives an idea of the rate of absorption and digestion of your carbohydrates.

The concept of GI was introduced in 1981 by David J. Jenkins and co-workers to control Diabetes. 

According to a study of NCBI, the GI represents the scale from 0 to 100, and it has been classified into three categories – 

Which Indian foods have a high glycemic index?

The high glycemic index foods are quickly broken down in your intestine and cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels after consumption.

This elevated PPBS (postprandial blood sugar) level is unsuitable for your health. 

These carbohydrates have more than 70 GI values. 

Many observational studies suggest high GI foods are strongly associated with diabetes mellitus, obesity, coronary heart disease and cancer. 

Sometimes, these high-GI foods can be beneficial to those who need instant energy. For example, athletes, dancers, sportspeople and hypoglycaemia conditions. 

Let’s see the high Glycemic Index chart of Indian foods –

Here, Maltodextrin is used as a food additive in many products, including processed foods, sauces, beverages, and sports drinks.

As far as the waxy rice is concerned, they have a high amount of amylopectin and a low amount of amylose. This high amylopectin is not suitable for health that spikes blood sugar levels.

What foods are a moderate glycemic index?

The moderate glycemic index foods get broken slightly slow in your intestine than high GI. These foods may also spike your blood sugar but not instantly. 

They have glycemic numbers ranging from 56 to 69. There are some examples of moderate GI foods – 

Which Indian food has a lowest glycemic index?

If you are taking high-GI foods, you must stop and think! Is it the right food for you or not?

You might choose moderate GI foods but should always prefer low GI foods.

Low-GI foods are best for your health if you want to stay healthy and lean. 

The purpose of a low GI diet is to provide sustained energy levels and prevent the instant rise of blood glucose levels.

Low GI foods do not spike your blood sugar. Because of this, they reduce the risk of having diabetes. 

Moreover, a low GI food may also be beneficial in certain conditions –

• Decrease risk of heart disease and stroke
• Increase sensitivity of Insulin receptors 
• Decrease obesity or maintain a healthy weight 
• Control your appetite 
• Control your cholesterol level (↓ LDL & ↑ HDL level)
• Resolve your acne problems

Here, I have mentioned the low glycemic index of Indian foods in different categories – 

Table 1

Table 2

Here, Brown rice and long-grain white basmati rice have a high amount of amylose and a low amount of amylopectin. This ratio is good for Diabetes.

Table 3

Table 4

Click here – Low glycemic Index Indian foods List PDF

What are the limitations of glycemic index? Why is the glycemic index sometimes misleading? 

Having a low GI doesn’t mean the food is nutrient-dense or healthy.

GI tool is only used to measure the glycemic response (PPBS level) after consuming carbohydrate-containing foods. There will be no GI of foods that do not contain carbs.

GI tool is not always 100% accurate. 

Because GI does not tell us the quantity of carbohydrates means how much carbohydrates we should take in our meal. 

Suppose a food has a very low GI; it does not mean we keep eating for a whole day. 

Let’s understand with an example – 

If you see the nutritional values of Chinese noodles. It has a low GI (35), but it contains very high carbs (67 g) in 100 g noodles. 

This food indicates a low GI food can have high carbs. Eating a large portion of a low-GI meal can also increase your blood sugar level.

Similarly, a high-GI food can have a low amount of carbs. 

For example, watermelon has a high GI (72) but contains much fewer carbs (7 g in 100 g watermelon). Watermelon fruit contains 92% water. 

Instead of having a high GI of watermelon, Diabetes people can eat watermelon because it contains significantly fewer carbs. 

Thus, GI theories are not giving clarity because it does not reflect the quantity of carbs. 

Another limitation is that it does not describe the insulin production in our body, which can be measured by the insulin index.

Moreover, several factors influence the value of glycemic index – 

1. Ripening

Excess ripped fruit may have high GI. For example, the GI of Banana fruit goes up as they start ripening. 

• Banana (green, unripe) – Low GI
• Banana (ripe, yellow) – Medium GI
• Banana (overripe, brown) – High GI

2. Processing or cooking 

GI of carbs may be altered in processed food. Overcooking may also increase the GI of food. The longer you cook food or starches like pasta. Then, GI will be higher.

For example, 

Unprocessed food (e.g., boiled sweet corn) has a low GI. While roasting or baking foods (e.g., crisp potatoes) will be a high GI. 

3. Particle size  

Fruit juice has a high GI rather than complete fruit. For example, the whole orange fruit has a low GI. While GI can be increased in orange juice. 

4. Varieties of food 

Brown rice or long-grain basmati rice has a low GI, whereas regular waxy white rice has a high GI.

How to overcome the limitation of glycemic index?

Researchers have found the Glycemic Load formula to address the limitation of glycemic index. 

This Glycemic load (GL) tool tells how much carbohydrate will raise blood sugar levels. In short, it describes the quantity and quality of food.

To calculate glycemic load, you must know the glycemic index and carbohydrate content of a particular portion of food. Then, you need to multiply its carbohydrate content by its glycemic index and divide by 100.

Glycemic Load (GL) = GI of carbs X amount of carbs (g)/100

According to a study, the glycemic load has been classified into three categories – 

What Indian food is OK for Diabetics?

If you have diabetes, you need to select your food by yourself.

To manage Diabetes, you still need a healthy meal plan that includes protein and fat.

The glycemic load tool is the best way to find your food to manage diabetes. 

It would always be better to consider a low glycemic load of food in your diabetic diet because it does not increase your blood glucose. 

Glycemic load tells what food is good for you and how much you should take in your diet. Low GL is a safe range. You should keep your food in less than 10 GL range. 

Diabetes people are always in a dilemma about what food and how much food we should take. 

Let’s take examples of some foods and calculate their GL value. 

1. Glycemic load of watermelon

To calculate the GL of watermelon, you will require to know the glycemic index and carbohydrate content of a particular portion of watermelon.

Suppose we have taken 100 gm watermelon, and its carbohydrate content is 8 g. The glycemic index of watermelon is 72. 

It would help if you put these values in the glycemic load formula.

Glycemic Load (GL) = GI of watermelon x carbs content of 100 g watermelon /100

                                     = 72 x 8/100

                                     = 5.7 (low GL)

Here, you have seen that the glycemic load is around 5 (low GL) of 100 gm watermelon, which is safe in diabetes.

2. Glycemic load of mango 

In India, the Mango fruit has also been controversial when discussing this fruit in Diabetes. 

Let’s know the truth and find out the glycemic load of mango. 

Glycemic Load (GL) = GI of mango x carbs content of 100 gm mango /100

                                     = 52 x 15 

                                     = 7.8 (low GL)

You can see the glycemic load of 100 g mango is around 8, which is considered a low GL range. 

There will be no spike in blood glucose levels if you consume up to 100 grams of mango daily.

3. Glycemic load of banana 

Bananas are a healthy addition to a balanced diet for people with Diabetes when eaten in moderation.

Glycemic Load (GL) = GI of Banana x carbs content of 100 g banana /100

                                     = 51 x 23/100

                                     = 11.73 (moderate GL)

If you consume Banana in moderation or less than 100 g, then it will not spike your blood sugar level.  

4. Glycemic load of Paneer

If you see the nutritional value of Paneer, it contains –

• Low glycemic index
• High protein
• High fat
• Negligible carbohydrates

The glycemic index of Paneer is 30. If you take 100 g paneer, you will get 4 g carbohydrates.

Glycemic Load (GL) = GI of Paneer x carbs content of 100 g Paneer /100

                             = 30 x 4/100

                             = 1.2 (Very low GL)

So, Paneer is an excellent food choice for diabetes because it does not shoot up blood glucose.

Similarly, you can find the GL value of any food and consider it in your diet to control Diabetes.   

Conclusion

We have seen the different categories of Glycemic Index of Indian Foods.

The glycemic index only tells what food increases blood glucose but fails to describe how much food we should take at a particular time. 

Therefore, Glycemic Index is not a perfect system but a helpful tool for calculating glycemic load. 

Glycemic load gives a more accurate picture of your food. It describes the effect of a specific amount of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. 

Overall, glycemic load minimizes the limitation of glycemic index. 

If you have diabetes, you should keep your food in the low glycemic load category. 

I hope you found this article informative. It will help to reverse your Diabetes. 

FAQ 

Q 1. What foods have a 0 glycemic index?

The glycemic index is absent in foods that do not contain carbohydrates, such as oil, fish, chicken, meats, etc. 

Q 2. Can I eat Banana if I have Diabetes?

The glycemic load of a Banana is 11, which is moderate GL. You can add banana fruit to your diabetic diet in moderation. 

Q 3. Is papaya low glycemic?

The glycemic index of Papaya is 60, which is moderate GI. It is absolutely safe in diabetes because if you calculate the glycemic load of 100 g papaya, then it would be around 4 (low GL). \

Q 4. Is pomegranate low glycemic?

Yes. The glycemic index of pomegranate is 35, which is low GI and carbohydrate content of 100 g pomegranate is 17g. If you calculate glycemic load of pomegranante, it would be around 6 (low GL).

Q 5. Is guava good for diabetes?

Yes. Guava can be a great fruit choice in diabetes. The glycemic index of guava is 18 and carbs content of 100 g guava is 14 g. If you calculate glycemic load of guava, it would be around 2 (low GL).

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