Low Glycaemic Load

GL stands for Glycaemic Load; a unit of measurement that tells you how a particular food will affect your blood sugar. Foods with a lower GL encourage the body to burn fat and keep your blood sugar balanced – an ideal situation for your waistline, your heart and of course, your body!

Foods that have a high GL increase your blood sugar level and cause insulin to be released into the blood stream. Some of this insulin makes you feel great and full of energy but a lot of it goes straight to your liver where it is stored as fat.

In a nutshell, the carbohydrate component in a food provides clues on the glycaemic load of a food item. For instance, if it slow releasing, like brown rice or sweet potatoes (good) or fast releasing, like white pasta or cake (bad).

A low GL diet sounds great but how does one achieve this?

1. Find out what you’re allergic to and avoid those foods in your diet.
2. Eat carbohydrates with protein so that they become slow-releasing.
3. Eat small frequent meals throughout the day as opposed to 3 big meals every couple of hours to keep your blood sugar levels balanced.
4. Choose “good-fat” foods like nuts and seeds over “bad-fat” foods like processed meats and fried foods.
5. Choose high nutrient foods that pile on less calories like quinoa, and avoid empty calories such as alcohol.
6. Choose naturally sweet options such as fruit over refined options like milk chocolate.
7. Exercise regularly to keep your heart pumping, blood circulating and metabolism moving.

For a more thorough plan tailor-made to your body, book an appointment with one of our qualified nutritionists at Healthy U by sending an email to hubmanager@healthy-u2000.com, info@healthy-u2000.com