
Living with Diabetes: A Day in the Life

The glycemic index is a word we have all seen thrown around when discussing low-carb diets. We have all been down the rabbit hole researching what foods have low GI and high GI. This is a standard that we have been told but what is GI?
The glycemic index was a concept developed by Dr. David J. Jenkins in the early 80’s which was meant to be used as a guideline for food choices for people with diabetes. The concept is used to measure how quickly a type of food causes blood sugar levels to rise. GI ranks food on a scale of 0 to 100 based on 50 grams of carbohydrates minus the fiber when measuring the effect on patient’s blood glucose levels over the next two hours.
Low GI: 1 to 55
Medium GI: 56 – 69
High GI: 70 and higher
The glycemic index doesn’t consider that people won’t eat 50 grams per serving of certain foods. For example, watermelon has a GI of 72, but you need to eat 50 g which is way more than one serving. This brings up another term Glycemic Load which takes into consideration the number of carbohydrates in a regular serving size. Where GI doesn’t tell you anything about the nutritional information about the food, GL explains the effect of a certain type of food but adds in the serving size.
Glycemic Load = (available carbohydrates (g) * Glycemic Index) / 100
The GL for watermelon is 4 – not bad. The GL is supposed to supplement the GI with more accurate information by including the actual serving sizes and how that specific serving will affect your blood sugar.
Of course, this isn’t the ONLY thing you should be looking at when switching to a low-carb diet. Calories are important too (concentrating on the quality of calories you’re intaking). The takeaway is that GI does provide an indicator as to how sugar can affect your day to day life, but referencing GL makes us more conscious of what we put into our body based on your personal eating habits. Regardless of whether you’re diabetic or not, glycemic index and glycemic load assists in understanding how foods will affect blood sugar.
Higher intake of low GI foods have shown to improve insulin resistance and glucose levels for people with type 2 diabetes.
As more sugar and carbohydrate-filled foods take over our grocery, we must be diligent in our awareness of what we’re putting down on our dinner plate. It’s true; we don’t need to know exactly the GI every food we consume, but GI acts a tool that can be used to reduce your sugar intake. Usually, low GI foods already include foods that should be part of a daily diet with nutritionals that can fit any lifestyle you’re adopting.
Low GI Foods
Food | GI |
Cauliflower | 15 |
Strawberry | 40 |
Broccoli | 10 |
Plums | 24 |
High GI Foods
Food | GI |
Pretzels | 83 |
Rice Cakes | 87 |
Scones | 92 |
Cornflakes | 80 |
As always, make sure to talk to your doctor when you’re making any dietary changes.
Glycemic index diet: What’s behind the claims. The Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/glycemic-index-diet/art-20048478. August 1, 2017
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Nutrition Care Manual. Glycemic index. https://www.nutritioncaremanual.org/topic.cfm?ncm_toc_id=272751. Accessed January 16, 2018.
Eleazu, C. O. (2016). The concept of low glycemic index and glycemic load foods as panacea for type 2 diabetes mellitus; prospects, challenges and solutions. African Health Sciences, 16(2), 468–479. http://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v16i2.15
What About Glycemic Load?. Glycemic Index Foundation. https://www.gisymbol.com/what-about-glycemic-load/
High, Medium and Low GI Foods. The GI Diet Guide. http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/
Glycemic Index and Diabetes. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html. May 14, 2014
Glycemic index of foods: a physiological basis for carbohydrate exchange. Jenkins DJ, Wolever TM, Taylor RH, et al. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/34/3/362/4692881?redirectedFrom=fulltext. March 1981.
HOUSTON, TX September 20, 2018 – The Sola Company, maker of the better-for-you foods product line that specializes in healthy alternatives, announced today their Sola low-carb bread line is going national with an Amazon launch of all 3 available flavors.
“Excited to bring Sola bread to market! Finally, and long overdue is a bread that is low in net carbs and tastes awesome,” said Mike Servie, President of the Sola company. “We have tested other breads perceived as healthy, but actually cause huge glucose and insulin spikes. All Sola products are 3rd party tested for great taste, low net carbs and low or no glucose and insulin release.”
Sugar has permeated many food products in the grocery store. Evidence has continued to come out linking added sugar and carbohydrates to chronic conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes[1]. Organizations like the American Cancer Society recognized the importance of addressing this dilemma by taking efforts to educate patients about diet choices that minimize intake of harmful ingredients like added sugar, without eliminating taste[2]. The Sola company has been at the forefront in promoting customer awareness of the sugars added to different products.
Sola low-carb bread contains 4 grams or less net carbs, and 30% less sugar than regular bread. Made with diabetics in mind, Sola bread causes minimal glycemic response without losing the moist, flavorful taste of bread that we know and love.
The Sola company Has been pioneering conscious eating since it’s inception in 2012. With a product line that provides better-for-you alternatives compared to the sugar and carbohydrate-load foods, Sola has carved the way to easier healthier living. Sola bread will now be available to a national audience following their other low-carb products such as Sola nut bars, granola, and sweetener.
Building on the momentum, Sola has also released a variety pack that includes all their low-carb products with two different flavors loaves of Sola bread, three Sola nuts bars and one pouch of Sola granola.
For The Sola Company’s latest news be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
About The Sola Company, LLC:
The Sola Company is a privately held company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Motivated by a personal journey to lose weight, improve wellness, yet continue to eat the delicious meals he loves, Dr. Bosarge, a leader in regenerative medical research, co-founded The Sola Company with Chef Ryan Turner, a culinary expert in low-carbohydrate diets, in 2012.
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[1] 1. Yang Q, Zhang Z, Gregg EW, et al. Added Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality Among US Adults. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(4):516–524.
[2] Cut Calories and Fat, Not Flavor. American Cancer Society. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/healthy/eat-healthy-get-active/take-control-your-weight/cut-calories-and-fat-not-flavor.html. Accessed February 6, 2018.
We have always wondered what SOLA ice cream flavor we were… therefore, we created a quiz! We love our low-carb ice cream with 60% less sugar than your average ice cream and 6 or less net carbs. With a low glycemic spike, it’s perfect for those on a low-carb or keto lifestyle.
Are you the rebel Sola Mint Chocolate Chip or maybe more of a quiet type like the Sola French Vanilla Bean? Take the quiz to find out!
Where can you find Sola ice cream: http://bit.ly/Sola-Store
Or order our other Sola products: http://bit.ly/Sola-Products