Carbohydrates

Understanding Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the principal source of energy for our body, they are essential and are themselves the main source of blood glucose.
Each gram of carbohydrates provides  4 kCal of energy.
Vegetables Fruits Potato, Beetroot, banana, apples, sweetpotatoes, mangoes, beans,
Sugar, jaggery, honey
Cereals and pulses
 wheat, rice, red gram, bengal gram, black gram, chick peas, soya, beans
Meat
 Poultry products, meat, fish, eggs
Milk
 Milk, cheese, yoghurt


Carbohydrates- Glycemic index

With food we get Carbohydrates, a constituent of our regular food which primarily causes blood sugar to rise.
Diet for a Diabetic thus changes from being a mere instrument of achieving satisfaction into a medical or therapeutic advantage, which can be used by the patient to control his/her blood sugar levels.

Different sources of food contain different amount of carbohydrates. It is not only important to know how much carbohydrate is contained in which food but also how that carbohydrate is absorbed in blood. Glycemic index indicates the rate at which carbohydrate present in a particular food item is absorbed from the into the blood and causes rise of blood sugar. Glycemic index is also influenced by the processing of food, highly processed foods have higher glycemic index, the lesser processing of the same products may decrease its glycemic index, e.g partially or half cooked pasta would have a lower glycemic index than overcooked pasta.

Foods rich in oil and fat content have lower glycemic index but due to their high calory content they still may not be preferable for diabetics. For example fried potatoes have lower glycemic index than boiled or mashed potatoes, but boiled potatoes would be preferable option for a Diabetic as it would contain less amount of calories by weight.
More detailed information would be given by your doctor / nutritionist regarding local foods and their glycemic indexes.

Low Glycemic index foods preferable for Diabetics

High Glycemic index foods to be avoided by Diabetics

Whole grains,wheat dalia, couscous, sprouted pulses

Processed ready to eat cereals

Legumes, beans

White Breads

Long grains rice (Basmati rice)

Sugar

Green vegetables, fresh fruits

Bakery products

Wheat flour with bran ( Atta) or a mixture of different flours like wheat, gram and soya bean

Semolina, Fine wheat flour products (Dishes made from maida &  Sooji like Halwa, Naan, Upma etc )

 Nuts and seeds

Starches, starch based foods, custards


 















healthwise005

Food Item

Glycemic index

Food Item

Glycemic index

Cereal Products


Fruits


Bread

70

Apple

39

Millets

71

Banana

69

Rice (white)

72

Orange

40

Wheat (Paratha)

70



Breakfast Snacks


Vegetables


Pongal

55

Brown Beans

79

Pesarattu

60

Frozen Beans

51

Upma

75

Potato

70

Idli

80

Sweet Potato

48

Chole

65

Yam

51

Sprouted moong

60

Beetroot

64

Sundal

80



Dairy Products


Dried Legumes


Milk

33

Soya Beans

43

Ice Creams

36

Rajmah

29

Curds

36

Bengal Gram

47



Green Gram

48



Black Gram

48

Miscellaneous


Sugars


Groundnuts

13

Fructose

20

Potato chips

51

Glucose

100

Tomato soup

38

Maltose

105



Sucrose

59



Honey

87


Carbohydrates- Fibre

Fibres are also carbohydrates, but they are not absorbed into the blood.
Fibres are very important part of our diet, they can be divided into Soluble and Insoluble Fibres
Take sufficient fibre in your daily diet

Soluble Fibres: Are not absorbed into the blood but they absorb water and swell into gel, this mass feeds the bacterias in the small intestine which break down the food in such a way that it helps lower blood cholesterol.
Examples: Oat bran, Barley, legumes, beans, potatoes, citrus fruits, apples

Insoluble Fibres: Are also not absorbed into the blood, they irritate the intestines and thus help in forward movement of  stool, they do not affect blood glucose but help stool passage and prevent constipation
Examples: Wheat bran, green vegetables, whole grains, seeds












 
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