Diet

• The GI system has spawned a GI diet that encourages those following it to eat foods with lower numbers. Controlling blood sugar is beneficial for keeping the hunger signal in check, making it useful for weight loss. Most doctors and nutritionists advise diabetics to follow the GI diet. The GI diet has the advantage of being easy to learn and to follow.
  
  

Benefits

• The Glycemic Index allows people to make healthy food choices that will satisfy hunger longer. People who follow the GI system to select their foods rarely feel deprived, because every food is allowed, though you have to compensate for higher numbered items and use some of them sparingly.
  
  

Effects

• A food can have a low GI number but still be unhealthful. The GI system is deceptive in that respect, because it looks strictly at the amount of change the food provokes in blood sugar, not necessarily at the nutritional value of the food. If you use the GI system to formulate a diet plan, be aware of what foods are and aren't healthful, regardless of their GI rank.
  
  

Potential

• Following a GI diet has the potential to help prevent Type II diabetes. Type II diabetes occurs when the body stops being able to produce enough insulin or loses sensitivity to the insulin the pancreas can produce. Eating foods with lower GI ranks will keep blood sugar levels from spiking and release less glucose during digestion, leading to a lower need for insulin.
  
  

Considerations

• Another down side to the GI system is that each food is ranked individually, though many foods are combined when we eat them. People also risk malnutrition if they only eat foods with low GI numbers. If you use common sense, the Glycemic Index can be a valuable tool for choosing nutritious foods to attain and maintain good health for diabetics, people wanting to lose weight and those who want to be healthy.