Yum or Yuck? 10 Ways to Lower Your Glycemic Index (Slideshow)

Kathleen Parker's op-ed piece in The Washington Post this week describes "The Sweet Tooth that Spawned an Epidemic." The column seemed spot on until the last paragraph, where she writes:

... eating with such attention to the glycemic index ruins your life. You won't have any friends. You'll spend all your time alone weighing four-ounce cuts of fat-free meat, sautéing spinach and picking flaxseed out of your teeth -- and your children will hate you -- but you'll be thin.

That's crazy talk! It's super easy to eat healthy food. Check out some scrumptious choices in this slide show. Each has a low glycemic index (under 55 on a scale of 100), indicating high-quality carbs that won't skyrocket your blood glucose levels. They'll keep you, your kids, and your many friends healthy, happy, and thin.

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Thanks to the University of Sydney's excellent Glycemic Index site for the GI ratings and facts. The food featured comes from my book, Wildly Affordable Organic, or my website, Cook for Good.

 

 

 

Follow Linda Watson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cookforgood

Comments

[Deadliftmcgee]

11:05 AM on 05/18/2012

I'm sorry, but toast? On average "Heart Healthy" wheat bread has a GI of 68-71, while pure sucrose is at about 63. Really, who needs carbs in grain form, when fruits and veggies are so much better.

Also, don't know why the WaPo author was sweating it so much, as long as she sticks to meat, veg, fruit, and nuts, she'd be fine. I don't weigh anything, I don't count calories, and I'm still lean.

We did quite fine for millions of years without cakes, breads, and pasta, it won't kill anyone to let these things go...just the opposite really.

[robertaruth]

10:16 PM on 05/14/2012

Peanut butter? Perhaps Ms Watson has never heard of almond butter -- a much better and healthiest choice. Among all nuts, the healthiest are pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts. Certainly not peanuts.

And adding a carrot to a cupcake -- it's still a cupcake and it has sugar.

[Linda Watson]

05:33 PM on 05/16/2012

Yes, I've heard of almond butter and enjoy it. Personally, I like the taste of peanut butter better and it's a key way to make organic wildly affordable. A pound of organic peanut butter costs $3.59 at a nearby store here in North Carolina. A pound of conventional almond butter costs more that twice that: $7.49!
Peanut butter is healthy, too, according to LiveStrong.com and Harvard Heart Newsletter:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/332979-peanut-butter-health/
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/Is-peanut-butter-healthy