Think back to Tammy’s story about her experience with type 1 diabetes. Based on what you have read about how foods affect blood glucose, are there foods that Tammy should avoid or limit?

Answer 1

As long as Tammy is consistent with her insulin injections while adhering to a routine exercise schedule she does not necessarily need to focus upon specific carbohydrates. However, the concept of glycemic response (the change in blood glucose following the ingestion of a specific food) is often considered for an individual requiring “fine-tuning” of their dietary choices to optimize regulation of blood glucose.
If Tammy were to choose her foods based upon the glycemic response (GR) they elicit, then she would want foods in her daily diet that routinely provide a lower response. Foods with lower GR would have glycemic index (GI) scores of lower than 55 on a scale of 1-100. Using Figure 4.16, some examples of low-GI food choices might be: oat bran cereal, white rice, fresh corn, popcorn, cracked wheat bread or cereal, apples, bananas, potato chips, apple muffins, lentil soup, grapes, apple juice, grape juice, plums, and even chocolate. It should be noted that a wide variety of food items have low GIs.