Benefits of Low-GI Diets

 

A Healthier Path to Wellness

We have heard the term glycemic index (GI), while we talk about weight management. But what is the glycemic index, and why should you consider a low-GI diet? Let’s see it in detail.

What is the Glycemic Index (GI)?

The glycemic index is a scale from 0 to 100. It measures how fast a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood sugar levels. Three categories of food classification are there.

• Low GI (55 or less): Slow digestion and gradual impact on blood sugar (e.g., Museli, RNR rice, buckwheat porridge).

• Medium GI (56–69): Moderate impact on blood sugar (e.g., whole wheat products, Oat porridge, millet porridge).

• High GI (70 and above): Rapid spikes in blood sugar (e.g., white bread, white rice, sugary drinks).

Low GI food digest very slow, that results in steady raise of blood sugar level and long lasting energy.

Key Benefits of a Low-GI Diet

1. Better Blood Sugar Control

For individuals with diabetes or pre-diabetes, managing blood sugar levels is critical. Low-GI foods, like RNR rice digest slow. It prevents sharp blood sugar spikes. It reduces the risk of complications like fatigue, cravings. And also long-term damage to blood vessels.

2. Supports Weight Management

Low-GI foods promote satiety, keeping you feeling fuller for longer. This helps reduce calorie intake, curbing unnecessary snacking and aiding in weight management. It’s an ideal choice for those looking to shed or maintain weight.

3. Sustained Energy Levels

High-GI foods cause energy crashes after a short burst of energy. Low-GI foods provide a steady release of glucose into the bloodstream. Its beneficial for athletes, students. Or anyone with a busy lifestyle requiring sustained focus and energy.

4. Improved Heart Health

A low-GI diet can help reduce levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and improve heart health. Stable blood sugar levels helps lower risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.

5. Reduced Risk of Chronic Diseases

Many studies suggest taking low-GI foods helps risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Also metabolic syndrome, and certain cancers. It also helps in managing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) symptoms.

6. Better Digestive Health

Low-GI foods are rich in fiber. It supports gut health by improving digestion and reducing constipation. This can enhance nutrient absorption and well-being.

Examples of Low-GI Foods

Incorporating low-GI foods into your diet is easier than you think. Here are some options to include in your meals:

• Whole Grains: RNR rice, quinoa, barley, oats.

• Legumes: Lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans.

• Fruits: Apples, berries, oranges.

• Vegetables: Leafy greens, broccoli, zucchini.

• Dairy & Alternatives: Unsweetened yogurt, almond milk.

How to Get Started on a Low-GI Diet

1. Replace High-GI Foods for Low-GI Alternatives. For example, replace white rice with RNR rice. Switch sugary & flavored energy drinks with options like multigrain porridge.

2. Balance Your Plate: Combine low-GI carbs with protein and healthy fats for a balanced meal.

3. Plan Your Meals: Prepare a meal plan and stick to low-GI options and avoid unhealthy choices.

Why Choose RNR Rice and Delight Medley Pro?

Both RNR rice and Delight Medley Pro are excellent additions to a low-GI diet. RNR rice provides a healthy alternative to traditional rice. Delight Medley Pro is a convenient, nutritious breakfast option to kickstart your day. Together, they form a foundation for balanced and health-conscious meals.

Final Thoughts

Switching to a low-GI diet is not only a trend; it’s a sustainable way to improve your regular health and well-being. You like to manage diabetes, aiming for weight loss or looking for more energy, low-GI foods like RNR rice and Delight Medley Pro can make a significant difference.

Start small! Make mindful choices! And enjoy the long-term benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Remember, every bite counts!

References:

Checkout for foods and GI chart from this link diabetesjournals.org

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5 Steps before you use the grain, which improves digestion

How to process/use the grain? Do we need to do anything to make it suitable for consumption?

Cleaning

Plants based foods like seeds, roots, stem, leaves, flower requires compulsory cleaning. They are grown in open space and lot of dust and other particles stay on on the layers. Also, farmers may use biochemicals and fertilizers to protect the plants. There is a possibility of those elements stays on the outer layer of the food. Cleaning the outer layer with fresh water or warm water removes all these dust and then they are safe for consumption to some extent. How it has to be cleaned? Showing the food before the tap water does not clean anything, it wets the surface and does nothing. Fill water in a bowl or container then put the grains in that. Rinse thoroughly with hands. Repeat the process until the color of the water remains unchanged. If cleaning is not properly done, then the external particles get into our stomach. They are not easily digestible by the stomach and results in stomach pain or indigestion. Cleaning helps in avoiding an upset stomach as a very first step.

Soaking

Soaking place an important role in the food processing. Many grains are tough to breakdown or cooking. For example, certain varieties of rice, pulses requires soaking, that will help us to remove the top layer and makes grains little soft and enables faster cooking. On the other side, soaking separates anti-nutrients from grains. Soaked water contains anti nutrients and that should be thrown out, never use the soaked water for cooking. Always rinse again the soaked grains once and use fresh water for cooking. This is a special step helps the grain to get rid of anti-nutrients, and shortens the cooking time. The soaking time is different for each grain ranges from 2 to 12 hours based on grains.

Fermenting/Sprouting

Sprouting is a process of transformation from grain to live plant. After soaking, water should be drained and the wet grains are tied in a cloth allowed to stay as it for a day or two. Small buds called sprouts are grown over a period of time. Similar to Soaking, this process uses natural yeasts to convert anti-nutrients into vitamins/minerals in the grains.

Roasting

As the process is time-consuming and tedious to be done on a daily basis, it used to be done once in a while and they preserve and use that powder. Sprouted grains do not stay from a couple of days and not much longer. The same can be extended by roasting. Roasting the sprouted grains till golden brown color smells good and stays longer. While roasting, you can feel the aroma of the grain, which indicates the right time to stop roasting. Avoid storing hot roasted grains immediately, allow the roasted grains to get cool naturally and then store it for later use.

Styles of Cooking

After all these steps, it needs a final step to get consumable. We can ground it to powder and use it for baking. We steam, or pressure cook and make delicious recipe and consume the grains, as convenient

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Millet Vs Oats - Which is more beneficial to help you in losing weight?

Which is better Oats or Millet?

Oats and Millet - Overview

Oats and Millets are grains which have entered into modern lifestyle as healthy foods. 

Millet is a group of small-seeded grasses that are widely grown as cereal crops in Asia and Africa. There are different types of millet, such as pearl millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, finger millet, and barnyard millet. Millet is gluten-free and rich in protein, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants.

Oats are a type of cereal grain that are mainly grown in temperate regions. Oats are also gluten-free, unless they are contaminated with wheat or other gluten-containing grains during processing. Oats are high in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.

Millets and Oats, both, are beneficial to one's health in their own way. While oats help in lowering cholesterol; Millets, taking Ragi for example, are beneficial for diabetics.

Nutrition

In General, when comparing millet and oats per 100g, millet contains more protein (11g vs 10.7g), calcium (8mg vs 5mg), magnesium (114mg vs 83mg), phosphorus (285mg vs 244mg), potassium (195mg vs 162mg), zinc (1.7mg vs 1.3mg), and iron (3mg vs 2.4mg) than oats. It also has a higher amount of dietary fiber than oats (8.5g vs 6.5g). On the other hand, oats contain more thiamin (0.4mg vs 0.3mg), riboflavin (0.1mg vs 0.04mg), niacin (0.9mg vs 0.8mg), and folate (32mcg vs 16mcg), which are all types of vitamin B. Oats also have more manganese than millet (3.6mg vs 1.6mg), which is an essential mineral for metabolism and antioxidant defense.

Oats have nearly 40% more protein than Proso Millet and Foxtail millet. Oats have more fibre than Barnyard millet and are richer in phosphorus and Thiamine than any of the millets. And both oats & millet have variable protein content.

Millets trump over oats in case of Calcium content (Ragi has close to 5.5 times calcium than Oats), and Pearl Millet (Bajra) has more than 3 times Iron content than Oats.

Preparation

Oats grain is not used much in a person's daily routine; we prefer rolled ones which are readily available in the market. As oats are in flakes format they are pretty easy to cook. Millets, predominantly available as grains and in value added forms (flakes, semolina), are gaining popularity nowadays. But recipes and awareness have not reached many people, so it remains unadopted in large quantities . But the simple fact is that most millets can be cooked like rice. Millets can replace rice in various dishes such as idli, dosa, payasam/kheer.

Cost

The cost of a Kg of Oats is about INR 105/- to 150/-. This is of the plain variety, and the costs vary based on the flavour and version of oats that are offered. Compare this to Millets, which cost anywhere between INR 30/- to 70/-. So the value for money is extremely good for Millets and affordable by many.

Conclusion

Oats and Millet, both are good source of fibre and contains complex carabohydrates by nature. This helps your satiety level and also energy will be retained for longer duration. In general, consuming of whole grains not only help in weight loss, but it also improves our basic nutrition in the form of vitamins and minerals. Oats is one grain and Milets have variety. Consuming various millet as a part of weekly diet not only helps in weight reduction, also boosts your immune system and improves nutrition.

Both millet and oats have their own benefits and drawbacks depending on your nutritional needs and preferences. Millet may be better for you if you are looking for more protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iron, or fiber in your diet. Oats may be better for you if you are looking for more vitamin B or manganese in your diet. You can also mix and match both grains to get the best of both worlds.

Millet - Farmers friend

To add further, millets are wonderful crops, easy to grow during droughts, and cheap to procure. Millets are one of the oldest foods known to humans and, are also unique due to their short growing season. By eating millets, we will be encouraging farmers in dry land areas to grow crops that are best suited for those regions. Using more millets we really support our own farmers who are dependent on 50% of rain fed Indian agricultural landscape.⁠⁠⁠

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Breakfast & Warm up exercise - A comparison

Let us compare breakfast with warm up exercise.

Overview

A breakfast is the first meal after a long night's sleep, where, your body detoxes and repairs itself. It can be compared with a warming up exercise done by an athlete before going for a run or, players preparing themselves before a match,which will make them ready for a stable performance.

What happens during the process?

What happens during warm up? Muscles and tissues stretch and relax, so that it can be more flexible in play. Similarly, anything we eat in the morning should help the natural process of detox and repair/regain to a ready state for upcoming foods of the day.

Can we skip this or Is it essential?

Can we skip warm up?, Will it affect our performance? Yes, Absolutely. Tight muscles and tissues are not relaxed, so it may slow down our response during play. Sometimes you can even sprain a muscle. Skipping breakfast will make you feel hungry, tired and lethargic. This is because the energy required is not provided, so the body start taking the necessary glucose from the tissues. On the other side, your stomach will start producing real acid to enable digestion. Empty stomach with acid leads to heartburn, which is not a healthy sign. It may lead to an ulcer and build up of gas.

Digestive action starts mild in the morning and goes to peak in the noon and slows down by evening.

Does that mean a heavy warm up exercise will be beneficial? Absolutely NOT. Too much of warming up will make us feel exhausted and tired. Warm up exercise should be mild and fresh. Likewise, a heavy breakfast is not advisable in the morning. Foods which contain complex carbohydrates, rich in fibre will be best kind of breakfast.

In conclusion

A breakfast with a variety of choices as mentioned below, is considered healthy:

1. Fresh fruits like bananas, avoid sour fruits.
2. Boiled potatoes and vegetables.
3. Whole grain bread, oatmeal or a porridge.
4. Nuts.
5. Fresh juice (not from a can or tetra pack.)

Do not confuse yourself between a full meal and heavy meal. A full meal is just loading your stomach full with eating more of prescribed foods, but a heavy meal contains fat rich foods like fries, cheese and panneer, which may be little difficult to get digested.

In simple, a breakfast is, Eat easy to digest food and don't over eat.

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