Glycemix Index Foods Helps Diabetes, Study Shows

A meta-analysis of 14 randomised control studies published in the Diabetes Care Journal shows that choosing low glycemic index foods can reduce Hemoglobin A1C (HgbA1c) by 7.4%, this translates to about 0.6 reduction in HgbA1C. This is huge because other studies have shown that a 1.0 reduction in HgbA1C reduces heart attack risk by 17% and diabetes related death by 21%. More importantly, this study concludes that:

The incremental benefit (of low GI foods) is similar to that offered by pharmacological agents that also target postprandial hyperglycemia.

The Glycemic Index (GI) reflects how certain foods can spike up blood sugar after they are eaten. It is a functional measure of how foods actually affect bloog sugar levels. For example, if you eat equal sized portions of potatoes vs sweet potato--the potato will spike up blood sugar more than sweet potato. Hence, sweet potato is the better choice.

University of Sydney has an excellent website on glycemic index that contains a database of foods and their GI.