A great side effect of low or slow foods is they usually have other benefits other than regulating the production on blood sugars. Almost all vegetables, with the exception of potatoes, are on the low end of the glycemic index, and they also help retard heart disease and cancer in addition to being instrumental in weight control.
Naturally, sweet fruits are slow for the most part. Some may dip into the medium-slow range, but most are below 55. Some of the most prominent fruits are apples, apricots, cherries, grapes, grapefruit, kiwi, mango, oranges, peaches, pears, and plums.
From the dairy product list, we have any kind of milk, although the 1% fat or skim varieties are better for you. Yogurts are great in most all of their varieties, but low fat and plain are the best.
Breads generally present a problem on the glycemic index. A few choices here would be pumpernickel, in the heavy variety, whole meal barley, cracked wheat, and bread made from barley flour. Although barley is more of a medium speed, it is much slower than white bread.
When using barley flour, you might cut it in with white flour at a rate of 50 percent. Barley has a good amount of fiber that is useful in decreasing low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, otherwise known as bad cholesterol.
Legumes are another great choice for the slow foods. Included in this list are lentils, beans, peas, alfalfa, lupins, mesquite, carob, soy, and peanuts.
Rice is good in some forms but not others. Basmati long grain white rice is more of a medium speed, but it is low in fat, which helps compensate for the speed. Uncle Ben's converted rice ranks in the slow category. The healthiest of the lot is brown whole grain.
Pasta is a good choice in many forms, but you must check each one on the glycemic index chart because some are better than others are. Oatmeal is prominent on the list; the better kinds are steel cut or rolled. Be wary of some of the packaged oatmeal with additives included.
Sweet potatoes are the only potatoes on the list in the low number area. They are of course only a distant relative to the common potato. Besides being a slow food, sweet potatoes are high in dietary fiber, beta-carotene, complex carbohydrates, and vitamins B and C.
Most slow foods remain so when prepared, but the preparation and the cooking can change the ranking and speed of any food on the glycemic index chart. Baked, grilled, and broiled are healthier options than fried, for example.
When choosing foods on the list to include in your diet, stick to low ranking items for healthier eating habits.