PCOS and Low GI

GI – Glycemic Index is the measure of carbohydrates based on their effect on our blood glucose levels.

Carbohydrates that easily breakdown, increasing the blood glucose levels rapidly are said to have high GI. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream are said to have low GI.

Several scientific studies have shown that individuals following low GI diet over several years are at significantly low risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and coronary heart diseases.

How does high GI food affect PCOS?

Insulin is a hormone that performs various functions in a body. One of its function is to maintain the blood glucose levels. As high GI food increases the blood glucose levels rapidly, more insulin is secreted to maintain the blood glucose levels. Releasing high levels of Insulin over prolonged period of time will cause your Pancreas (gland which secretes hormone Insulin) to wear out. Since, optimum levels of Insulin is necessary to maintain your blood glucose levels, eating high GI foods will increase your risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

PCOS and Low GI Diet

As most of the PCOS women have insulin resistance, it is advised to follow low GI diets which will gradually releases energy into your blood stream. This will not create Insulin spikes and hence your pancreas will not overwork.

Following a Low GI diet is not that hard as it sounds. Being an Indian, all I need to do was cut down on my rice intake and increased my wheat intake. Instead of getting the soft atta flour, I purchased the whole wheat flour and to my surprise it tasted better. I started having Green Tea twice as day as the antioxidants in the green tea is supposed to get rid of toxins in our body.
Purchased a juicer and started having vegetable juices after my exercise routine. I am not overweight, so following a low GI diet resulted in some weight loss for me as well. But, the good thing I felt a lot more energetic than I used to.

As the name suggests, it is not diet that you follow for a while and forget about it. It is kind of a lifestyle change.
If insulin resistance is the primary cause of your PCOS, then it might be necessary for you to make this lifestyle changes. This will not only reduce your PCOS symptoms, but prevents your from future diabetes and heart diseases risk.

Choosing foods for your Low GI change

If you live in any of the developed countries, it might be easy for you to the get the low GI breads. You can see the cover of the bread and in most of the low GI ones they specify the GI index.

But, if you are not lucky enough to get GI details from the food you purchase in your country, then the best thing to do is to increase your whole grain intake. You can start to have brown rice instead of white rice. Also, you can purchase fibre supplements such as Metamucil to complement your daily fibre intake.

Fibre is a natural source for detoxifying your body. The good source for learning about the GI value of variety of food and meals is: http://www.glycemicindex.com/

You can safely follow a low GI meal while taking other medications such as Metformin. You can make your whole family follow a low GI diet as it is beneficial for everybody. This way you don’t have to prepare a separate meal for yourself.

There are many low GI diets available on the internet. For obese women with PCOS, following a traditional low fat high Card diet will make the situation worse. This is especially true if the carbohydrate you are consuming is of high GI. 

Take time to do your research on the internet regarding the GI values of food. This website provides a GI database which contains the GI values of various food items across different continents. Use that as your basic source before investing in costly low GI diet books available over the internet.

Don’t forget to send your success stories to me. Please remember it provides inspiration and confidence to lot of PCOS sufferers out there!!