Understand Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load: 5 Key Principles for Better Blood Sugar Control

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Managing blood sugar levels is crucial for overall health, especially for those with diabetes or prediabetes. Two important concepts to understand to manage health and wellbeing when making food choices especially if you want to manage diabetes are the Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL). Here are five principles to help you make better food choices based on these concepts: 1. Prioritize Low Glycemic Index Foods The Glycemic Index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels. Foods with a low GI cause a slower, more gradual rise in blood sugar, which is beneficial for maintaining stable energy levels and avoiding spikes. Examples of low GI foods include non-starchy vegetables, beans, and certain fruits like apples, pears, pomegranate and berries. 2. Consider Glycemic Load for a Comprehensive View Glycemic Load (GL) takes into account both the quality (GI) and quantity of carbohydrates in a food. This provides a more comprehensive understanding of a food’s impact on...

Sleep in dark

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Our biology asks natural sleep in dark but due to demanding work and lack of schedule, many people end up sleeping with lights on while working on computers or watching television. In this article we will discuss the importance of sleeping in dark in terms of medical point of view.

We might be aware of circadian rhythm(our biological clocks) which is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria.

A key factor in regulating circadian rhythms thus also our sleep is exposure to light or to darkness. As exposure to light stimulates a nerve pathway from the eye to parts of the brain that control hormones, body temperature and other functions that makes us feel sleepy or awake.

Excess light, just before bedtime may prevent from getting a good night’s sleep. According to EurekAlert, a recent study at Ohio State University looked at mice housed in a lighted room for 24 hours a day and mice housed in a room with a normal light-dark cycle. The study found that mice exposed to 24-hour light exhibited more symptoms of depression than the other mice.

The following point may be considered for maintaining healthy exposure of light:

  • During the day, maintain natural bright indoors or use artificial light sources. Take some time to find sunlight.
  • At night, Sleep in dark. Eye mask or light blocking curtains could be used for limiting external light. A low light night lamp could be used particularly if one has habit of waking up in middle of night for toilet etc.
  • Limit dozing with the television or computers or lights-on right before sleep.
  • A good sleep schedule is particularly important for infants and children, as it directly impacts mental and physical development. For a baby circadian rhythms develop at about six weeks, and by three to six months, most infants have a regular sleep-wake cycle.

References and Further studies:

  1. Sleep foundation organization (sleepfoundation.org).
  2. Eurekalert! (eurekalert.org).