Low Glycemic Index Foods

Low Glycemic Index Foods

Your main guide to foods that you want to replace is your notes from the natural observation period in week 1 and 2.  Use the tables below to find replacement foods with a lower glycemic index for the second week of your experiment.

Table 4:  Breakfast foods with Low Glycemic Index

Food	Glycemic Index
Bran Cereal	43
Steel Cut Oats	53
Rolled Oats	57
Grapefruit	25
Mangoes	51
Oranges, raw	48
Pineapple	51
Plums	53
Strawberries	40
Grapes	43
Bananas (depending on ripeness)	47

Perhaps nothing creates more confusion with the patients in our program than whether or not fruit is good for people with insulin resistance.  Hopefully the chart above makes the answer clear.  Fruit has been shown in multiple studies to be helpful for metabolic issues.  It contains fiber, very high levels of antioxidants and the glucose is less accessible when the fruit is in a whole form.  Of course, if the fruit is highly processed as it is in some fruit juices, then the glycemic index can be much higher and it can trigger spikes.  We do not recommend fruit juices especially those with added sugar.

Table 5:  Lunch and Dinner Foods with a Low Glycemic Index

Food	Glycemic Index
Carrots, raw	35
Carrot juice	43
Lima Beans, Frozen	32
Potato, white, boiled	54
Basmati rice	52
Brown rice, steamed	50
Barley	22
Bulgur wheat, whole, cooked	46
Chickpeas	36
Mixed grain bread	52
Oat Bran Bread	44
Rye Kernel Bread	41
Water crackers, whole grain, sesame seeds	53
Black Beans	30
Butter Beans	36
Kidney Beans, whole	29
Kidney Beans, Canned	52
Lentils, canned	42
Split peas, yellow, boiled	25
Cashews	25
Walnuts	15
Almonds	15
Pistachios	15
Hummus	6
Salmon, tuna, cod, mackerel	0
Chicken, Turkey	0
Beef, pork	0

Try to focus on vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruit, and nuts as replacement foods on your elimination diet.  Try not to focus on animal-based products despite their very low (typically 0) glycemic index.  There are other issues with animal-based products which we will review in the Food Experiment later.  For now, just try not to focus too much on them and if you really want to eat more animal-based foods, try to focus on Fish and Seafood as you would with a Mediterranean Diet.

Table 6:  Deserts and Beverages with a Low Glycemic Index

Food	Glycemic Index
Pound cake	38
Ice-cream, French Vanilla (full fat)	38
Oatmeal cookies	54
Sponge Cake	46
Snickers bar	43

With our emphasis on whole, plant-based foods, we don’t generally recommend any of the foods in the table above.  But our patients often tell us that they need healthier deserts if they are to avoid slipping back into the high glycemic index foods above.  You can try using the deserts above while wearing your CGM and see how you do.  But if you really want to stay healthy, we recommend whole fruit for your desert food.

Medium Glycemic Index Foods

There are a host of foods in the medium glycemic index range that you can experiment with.  These foods might increase your blood sugar, or they might not.  They tend to affect people differently and their impact differs based on the amount consumed, the time of day and other foods that you may consume along with them.  This makes these foods ideal foods to include in your experimental approach to changing your diet.  Table 7 below shows some foods in this medium glycemic index category.

Table 7: Assorted Foods with a Medium Glycemic Index

Food	Glycemic Index
Apricots	64
Cherries	63
Figs, dried	61
Dates	62
Kiwi	58
Peaches	56
Raisins	64
Split Pea Soup	60
Pumpkin	66
Sweet Potato, Boiled	61
Bran Chex Cereal	58
Life Cereal	66
Shredded Wheat Cereal	67
Special K Cereal	67
Hamburger Bun	61
Pumpernickel Bread	56
Pita Bread	57
Honey, pure	58
Nutri-Grain Bars	66
Stoned Wheat Thins	67
Shortbread Cookies	64
Croissant	67