I am thinking of going on a Low GL diet. I am a vegetarian so it is a bit harder. I still like the odd sugary dessert though. I have read that you can combine high and low GI foods to form an okay meal. How does this work? Do you eat the high GI food first or last? Does one have to be in a higher supply or more carbs then the other?
I am thinking of going on a Low GL diet. I am a vegetarian so it is a bit harder. I still like the odd sugary dessert though. I have read that you can combine high and low GI foods to form an okay meal.
That's true. I've read the same thing.
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How does this work? Do you eat the high GI food first or last?
Supposedly, according to what I have read, it doesn't matter.
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Does one have to be in a higher supply or more carbs then the other?
If you get a good book with charts, you can look up the foods you want to combine. A good book will tell you how to go about it. I have one at home (not with me now) the title is: "The New Glucose Revolution".
Basically, if you know that some item is a high GI item, you just limit that item and eat lots of low GI items with it. For example, you might make a really BIG salad and include a half cup of cooked whole grain pasta. The vegetables, plus the olive oil and lemon juice dressing, should more than balance the high GI of the pasta. Whatever you include for protein might be helpful too. You would have to look it up at first, until you get used to it.
I checked and the title is: "The New Glucose Revolution". I wouldn't say it's perfect but it's probably about as good as it gets. See if your library has it, then if you like it you can always get a copy at some later time.
The problem is, it doesn't have a complete listing and a lot of the foods are foods that are produced in foreign countries. In many cases it just serves to give you a general idea of whether a food is high or low GI. Often it's confusing because there is no food listed for the U.S..
It's not perfect but you can still learn a lot from it.
I have recently been reading some books on the GI diet, and based on my understanding, you might want to consider the overall glycemic load (GL). The GL is defined as the overall GI multiplied by a food’s carbohydrate content. Similar to what JohnR41 said, you could high-GI foods that contain fewer grams of carbs (fruits, vegetables, nuts, and protein-rich foods), combined with low-GI staples such as whole grain breads, cereals, and legumes. Low-carb desserts would probably also be permissible using these guidelines.
