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...

Food meditation: Chewing & Mindfulness while eating

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The centre of mindful eating design is to slow down and be completely in tune with all tastes and textures of the food at hand. Food meditation is a great practices to improve relationship with food and building healthy long-term eating habits.

In the event that you eat excessively quick, the completion sign may not show up until you have just eaten excessively. This is extremely normal when we don't give attention to physical hunger cues. Thus eating slowly and only until you’re full is all part of mindful eating.

Here are some steps to eat more mindfully:

  • Be grateful to the food as it takes effort to put together the food that we eat.
  • Have the time to relax and enjoy your food without interruptions.
  • Take food into your hands. 
  • Consider how it feels between your fingers. 
  • Observe its colour, aroma, texture, flavour, and sound of the food by using all the senses.
  • Observe any thoughts you might be having about it. 
  • First, feel the touch of the food, smell it unique fragrance, its texture and variations.
  • Slowly begin pull out the first bite, observe the food unwinding, its thickness and crispiness.
  • Observe the fine motor coordination involved in pulling out the bite. 
  • Remember the anticipation while making bite ready for eating.
  • Now gradually bring the food bite to your lips.
  • Be aware of your thoughts, feelings and smell. 
  • Observe your mouth salivating as you anticipate eating it.
  • Take the food into your mouth and chew it slowly, noticing its taste, flavours and ingredients.

  • Chewing enhances flavor, aids digestion, and prevents overeating when done slowly and thoroughly.
  • Hold it in your mouth. 
  • When you feel ready to swallow, observe if the body naturally wants to swallow it.


References and Further reading:

  1. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/diets/mindful-eating.htm
  2. https://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/3/171