Glycaemic Index and Diabetes

So glycemic index is a measure of how quickly the glucose is released out of a food. So there is an index from 0 to 100. So if I just give you an example, there are foods which have lower glycemic index and foods, carbohydrate foods, which have a higher glycemic index. where the glycemic index is really important is how quickly or slowly a food is released. When somebody is living with type 2 diabetes or type 1 diabetes, it's really useful to know the glycemic index is because if we have foods which have a slower release of glucose, which is a lower glycemic index, it can actually avoid the spikes of blood glucose after you've eaten something. So if you choose foods which have a lower glycemic index, such as a lot of the fruits, the vegetables, whole grain, seeded foods, foods which have more fiber, it holds on to the glucose for longer and it releases the glucose much slowly. And this in turn will have a much better outcomes in terms of your blood glucose management. Foods which have a high blood glycemic index release the glucose very, very quickly. And also it has a spike in your blood glucose much quicker so this will have an impact on your blood glucose. So although we do talk about glycemic index, ultimately the aim is to reduce the amount of carbohydrate and then opt for foods which have a lower glycemic index or have a higher fiber content because all these things will have a significant impact on how we manage our blood glucose. So if you really want to think about carbohydrates and the type of carbohydrates you're eating and think about the amount, think about the quantity of the quality and also the amount of fiber. So always adding in more nuts or seeds or vegetables can lower the glycemic index of the food as well.