Special Diets Nutritious Low-Glycemic Superfoods By Gary Gilles, LCPC linkedin Gary Gilles is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) who has written about type 1 diabetes and served as a diabetes counselor. He began writing about diabetes after his son's diagnosis as an infant. Learn about our editorial process Gary Gilles, LCPC Reviewed by Reviewed by Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN on December 15, 2020 facebook twitter linkedin instagram Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist. Learn about our Review Board Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN on December 15, 2020 Print John Carey/Photolibrary/Getty Images There has been a lot of research on the benefits of eating low-glycemic foods, especially for those with diabetes. When low-glycemic foods are incorporated into your regular meal plan, it has been shown to even out many of the large and rapid blood glucose spikes that many with type 1 diabetes experience. Low-glycemic foods contain less sugar (either natural occurring sugar or when added through processing) and therefore will not raise your blood glucose as much as other foods that have a greater amount of sugar in them. Even mixing in a few low-glycemic foods into your current meal plan may help you to better manage your blood glucose levels. What Is the Glycemic Index? The research on glycemic foods has resulted in a glycemic index that ranks foods according to their glycemic impact, or how they affect blood sugar levels. The index specifically focuses on carbohydrates and ranks them on a scale from 0 to 100. Foods that are higher on the glycemic index are absorbed more quickly by your digestive tract and therefore cause a faster and greater rise in your blood sugar. Glycemic Ranking System Here’s the generally accepted standard for identifying the glycemic ranking of foods:Low glycemic foods have a ranking of 55 or lessMedium glycemic foods have a ranking of 56 to 69High glycemic foods have a ranking of 70 or higher So, when using the glycemic index, you want to choose foods in the low glycemic category that have a ranking of less than 55. Glycemic Load To effectively use the glycemic index you also need to consider the glycemic load of a food. The glycemic load tells you how much carbohydrate is in a particular food. It considers the serving size and calculates the number of carbohydrates in that serving, which gives you a more accurate means of predicting how it will affect your blood sugar. Calculating the Glycemic Load of a Food To obtain the glycemic load of a particular food multiply the glycemic index ranking by the amount of carbohydrate in that food and divide the result by 100. You can then measure the glycemic load accordingly: 10 or less is a low glycemic load11-19 is a medium glycemic load20 or more is a high glycemic load For example, a medium-sized apple has a glycemic index of 40 and about 16 carbohydrates. If you multiply 40 x 16 this equals 640. You then divide 640 by 100 for a glycemic load of 6. So, a medium sized apple would qualify as having a low glycemic load. Here is a searchable database of foods that will provide you with the glycemic index, number of carbohydrates, and the glycemic load. The Glycemic Index of Common Foods Low-Glycemic Superfoods Here are 5 low-glycemic foods that are also high in nutrition. Chana Dal. Chana Dal is a type of chickpea that is widely used in India and the Mediterranean region of the world. It has one of the lowest glycemic rankings and is wonderful in soups. Three-fourths of a cup of cooked chana dal provides 25 grams of high-quality carbohydrate with a glycemic load of only 3.Dried beans. Dried beans vary somewhat in the glycemic rankings depending on the type of dried bean you choose. One-third of a cup of soaked and cooked dried beans, on average, will provide about 21 grams of carbohydrate and a glycemic load of about 5.Lentils. Lentils are also popular fare in the Mediterranean and Middle East and very nutritious and inexpensive and have a low glycemic load. A 1/2 cup of cooked lentils provides about 24 grams of carbohydrate and has a glycemic load of about 7.Whole wheat pasta. It may surprise you to hear that pasta could have a low glycemic load. But it is unique to whole wheat pasta and how you prepare it. A one cup serving of al dente (firm vs. soft) whole wheat pasta has about 25 grams of carbohydrate with a glycemic load of about 10. Cooking pasta beyond the al dente stage increase the glycemic load.Split peas. Split peas are high in dietary fiber and B vitamins in addition to being a low glycemic food. A 1/2 cup of cooked split peas provides about 20 grams of carbohydrate with a glycemic load of about 10. Can Low-Glycemic Foods Help You Lose Weight? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get nutrition tips and advice to make healthy eating easier. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Superfoods. Glycemic Index. Glycemic Search Index.