Glycemic Load Diet Plan is a healthy weight loss plan, which will not only reduce your blood sugar but will also assist your body in losing weight.
The diet plan is entirely based on scientifically proven theories and principles. You neither have to count the number of calories nor have to starve of your body in the diet plan. There is no portion control or anything like that, the main objective of the diet plan is to inculcate healthy eating habits in you and tell you how to select healthy foods. Glycemic load is used for categorizing carbs containing food items on the basis of their impact on blood sugar level.
What is Glycemic Load?
Glycemic Load is actually wider and better description of glycemic index. Glycemic load defines the impact of carbs on blood sugar level. It segregates the amount of carbs and glucose in food items and anticipates the impact of whole food on your body.
Glycemic Load considers each and every component of foods differently and ranks them individually. There are many food items which are high on GI ranking, but are low in glycemic load. Glycemic load provides you better and wider variety of food items. It adheres to more realistic and practical approach because whenever you eat meal, you don’t consume foods in isolation, in-fact you eat bunch of foods. So, glycemic load will better guide you and tell you what kind of foods you should consume.
Functioning of Blood Sugar in your Body
Carbs are the main source of energy for your body. When carbs reach inside your body, they are being broken into sugar, starch, and fiber. While sugar gets converted into glucose, fiber doesn’t affect your body and exits from your body without being digested.
Sugar flows into your bloodstream and go to different cells to provide them energy. Surplus glucose in your body gets stored in liver and muscles. Two hormones namely insulin and glucagon mainly participates in the process of regulating sugar level in your body.
While insulin transfers glucose from blood to cells when sugar is high in your body, glucagon transfers glucose from cells to blood when sugar level is low in your body. Thus, both the hormones maintain equilibrium in your body.
Why Blood Sugar Lose Balance?
Due to unhealthy foods such as processed foods, junk foods, and others, normal functioning of hormones get disrupted. The level of blood sugar and insulin in your body starts fluctuating at a very high level and your body’s work mechanism gets seriously affected, which leads to elevated insulin resistance.
Why should you Follow Glycemic Load Diet?
Major purpose of the diet plan is to correct diabetes in your body by controlling blood sugar level. However, since high blood sugar is directly related to obesity, heart diseases, and elevated cholesterol level, improvement in blood sugar level will automatically sweep several health problems from your body.
Selection of low GL food items in the diet plan will melt several pounds from your body, and will rid you from myriad chronic diseases. The diet plan not being limited to certain period of time is a lifetime diet plan.
Foods having High GI ranking but Low Glycemic Index
Glycemic Load diet offers more variety of food items. Let’s have a look at some of the food items which are not considered good according to their GI index, but are nutritious from the point of glycemic load index.
Papaya – Having GI – 59 and GL – 10, papaya being a healthy and nutritious food consists of several vital nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium, folate, potassium, and fiber.
Cantaloupe – Having GI – 54 and GL – 4, the fruit is rich source of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, and fiber.
Pumpkin – Having GI – 75 and GL – 3, pumpkin has wonderful sweetness and has myriad health benefits. It has diversified usages and is used in soups, desserts etc. Pumpkin is rich in vitamin C, vitamin A and fiber.
Watermelon – Having GI – 72 and GL – 4, watermelon is yummy summer fruit. Containing plenty of water, it’s a great antioxidant and is rich in vitamin C and vitamin A. It also consists of lycopene, which ensures proper health of your heart.
Pineapple – Having GI – 59 and GL -9, pineapple is a tropical fruit and is rich in vitamin C. It consists of bromelain, which provides anti-inflammatory properties to the fruit. It aids digestive problems.
Categorization of Glycemic Load Diet
Daily consumption of food items according to glycemic load has been categorized into three parts.
Low Glycemic Load – 10 or Below
Cashew and peanuts, tomato juice, lentils, black beans, kidney beans, soy beans, green peas, grapefruits, apple, carrots, whole wheat tortillas, milk etc.
Medium Glycemic Load – 11 to 19
Oat meals, rice cakes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, sweet potato, graham crackers
High Glycemic Load – 20 or Above
White rice, pizza, raisins, dates, couscous, sweet fruit juices, sugary beverages, French fries, baked potatoes, macaroni, cheese, low fiber cereals etc.
High glycemic load foods and beverages get easily digested and converted into glucose by your body, which cause wide fluctuations in the level of blood sugar and disturb the functioning of hormones.
Contrary to that, low GL foods take time in being digested. Since your metabolism becomes slow and gets busy in digesting low GL foods, you feel contented for longer and don’t get hunger pangs. It keeps your weight in control because you are being saved from overeating foods.
Benefits of Glycemic Food Diet Plan
Glycemic diet plan is inevitably a meticulous diet plan, which has specifically been designed, understanding the human body and its reaction towards various foods. Let’s have a look at some of the benefits of the diet plan.
- You don’t have to combat with hunger pangs and persuade you not to consume your favorite foods. The food items in the diet plan will keep you full and you naturally won’t feel like consuming any food, thus the entire process would be effortless.
- Fibrous and protein rich foods will not only lose weight from your body but will also sustain your lost weight forever.
- Your permanent eating habits will improve. You will not crave for junk and unhealthy foods and will feel more energized and agile than before.
- The diet plan will also rid you from several skin problems such as acne, pimples, eczema etc., and will provide you flawless and healthy skin.
