Weight-loss 101: What are low glycemic foods?

July 17, 8:33 PMWeight Loss ExaminerGail Gedan Spencer

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Artichokes are a low glycemic food.

Eating foods low on the glycemic index is somewhat new in the pantheon of nutrition -- probably the past 25 years or so.

A low-glycemic diet has been shown to help many things -- blood sugar, satiety, weight loss and now, perhaps, breast cancer.

So what are some low glycemic foods? Here's the quick and dirty: the browner the better (and we're not talking brownies).

Think brown rice instead of white rice, 100 percent whole wheat bread instead of white bread, whole wheat pasta instead of regular white pasta.

Those are the starchy carbs. Non-starchy carbs (the leafy greens) are also much lower on the glycemic index. Peanuts are also a low-glycemic food, and peanut M&M's have a lower glycemic load than regular ones (that's just an example and peanut M&M's are not a keystone of a sensible diet, but you see where I'm going). Adding something like peanuts or lean protein can lower the glycemic load of a meal. So instead of a snack of an apple, something like an apple and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter would be a better low-glycemic bet.

Here are a few low-glycemic foods. A great list can be found at Prevention.com:

• Artichoke < 15
• Asparagus < 15
• Broccoli < 15
• Cauliflower < 15
• Celery < 15
• Cucumber < 15
• Eggplant < 15
• Green beans < 15
• Lettuce, all varieties < 15
• Low-fat yogurt, artificially sweetened < 15
• Peanuts < 15
• Peppers, all varieties < 15
• Snow peas < 15
• Spinach < 15
• Young summer squash < 15
• Zucchini < 15
• Tomatoes 15
• Cherries 22
• Peas, dried 22
• Plum 24
• Grapefruit 25
• Pearled barley 25
• Peach 28
• Canned peaches, natural juice 30
• Dried apricots 31
• Soy milk 30
• Baby lima beans, frozen 32
• Fat-free milk 32
• Fettuccine 32
• M&M's Chocolate Candies, Peanut 32
• Low-fat yogurt, sugar sweetened 33
• Apple 36
• Pear 36
• Whole wheat spaghetti 37
• Carrots, cooked 39
• Snickers bar 40