If you have PCOS, you’ll likely come across the term Glycemic Index (GI) at some point. It’s a tough concept for most people to wrap their heads around, so I thought it would be a good topic for this month’s PCOS blog entry. The best way to understand GI is to first understand that it’s a number from 0 to 100 used to rank carbohydrate foods based on how fast the carbohydrates turn into blood sugar after you eat them. A high GI food causes a quick rise in blood sugar. A low GI food causes a slower, steadier rise in blood sugar. To give you an idea, pure glucose has a GI of 100. Some examples of low GI foods are vegetables, beans, brown rice, and whole grain bread. Some examples of high GI foods are candy, chips, juice, white rice, and white bread.

But why should you care about this number, you might ask? The sugar in your blood is controlled like the thermostat in a room during the winter. When the room gets cold, the heater turns on. If the room gets hot, the heater cools off. When your blood sugar gets too low, you’ll likely feel hungry as your body tries to balance itself, and you may also feel sluggish and tired. On the other hand, when your blood sugar gets too high, your body releases insulin which helps your body to absorb the sugar. The glucose that your body doesn’t use is then stored as fat.

If you have PCOS, you should try to replace high GI foods with low GI foods to help keep your blood sugar and insulin levels under control. Choose whole grains instead of refined grains. If a food is a whole grain, whole grain or whole wheat will be listed as the first ingredient on the nutrition facts label. When choosing a carbohydrate food, you should also look at the fiber content on the food label because, usually, the higher the fiber content, the lower the GI.

If you’re trying to control your blood sugar and insulin levels, what you eat with carbohydrate foods matters, too. If you eat a carbohydrate food combined with another food, the carbohydrates will be absorbed more slowly. Always pair carbohydrate foods with a source of protein, such as nuts, cheese, hummus, eggs, fish, or meat. If you have PCOS, eating according to MyPlate is a great way to make sure you’re getting plenty of veggies and protein to help balance the carbohydrate foods you eat.

-Dietitian Bryan