Carbohydrate-rich foods or “Carbs” refers to refined carbohydrates like cakes, breads, pastries, and cookies. Cutting out these “white/beige” or eating less is an important part of managing weight and blood sugar. Fruits and vegetables also have carbohydrates but these foods have fewer calories and tend to raise blood sugar less than refined carbohydrates. The Glycemic Index or GI tests how much a test food raise blood sugar over two hours compared to glucose. The Glycemic Load or GL is the GI multiplied by the grams of carbohydrates in a food. You can find lists of high GI foods in The LA Shape Diet (D Heber and S Bowerman, 2005) available on Amazon.

Categories: Nutrition