Choose low and medium GI foods more frequently than high GI foods. A GI of 55 or less ranks as low, a GI of 56 to 69 is medium, and a GI of 70 or more ranks as high.

Tips for lowering the Glycemic Index of your daily meals:

•  Base your food choices primarily on overall nutrition – including vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Don't completely dismiss healthy foods such as white potatoes just because they have a high GI. Their other nutritional benefits make them good choices. The idea is moderation

•  Try to eat at least one low GI food at each meal. Work your way up to 2 or 3, keeping in mind a vegetable will not hurt you.

•  Limit or remove completely the amount of processed, refined starchy foods. They normally are very low in fiber and other nutrients and generally have a high GI.

•  Try eating new foods that have a low GI. Try beans, legumes and lentils by including them in dishes such as chili, soups and salad.

•  Eat whole grain, pumpernickel, high fiber crisp bread, and oat bran bread more often than white bread.

•  Eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables have a low GI, so they break down into sugar slowly in your body. In fact eat as many as you wish.

•  Eat parboiled, brown or white rice more often than instant rice.

•  Eat pasta, rice, yams, lima beans or baked potatoes more frequently than mashed, boiled or instant potatoes. Cold potatoes, as in a salad, reduces their GI (but go easy on the mayo dressing).

•  Use vinaigrette instead of a creamy salad dressing. It's lower in fat, in addition the acidity of the vinegar slows digestion, lowering the meal's GI.

•  Moderate your portion sizes; the bigger the portion, the more it will increase blood glucose, despite of its GI rank. More information about healthy portion sizes can be found on the Handy Portion Guide.

•  Check your blood glucose level before eating and one to two hours afterwards to see how your body handles the meal.

•  More information about the Glycemic Index and how to include low GI foods in your meal plan, see the Glycemic Index Tool.

Always consult with your diabetes educator or registered dietitian.