The absorption of too much sugar too quickly can cause your pancreas to produce extra insulin to facilitate glucose transport from your blood into your tissues. Some of the extra glucose may be converted into triglycerides in your liver, and the fat may be shipped to your tissues. Thoughtful food choices and careful meal planning can help to prevent sharp rises in blood glucose that end up expanding your waistline.

Glycemic Index

Choose foods with a low or medium glycemic index, or GI, which is a numerical measure of how much and how quickly a single carbohydrate-containing food raises your blood glucose level. Individual foods are scored relative to pure glucose, which has a GI of 100. Foods with a value of 55 or less are considered low GI foods, while medium GI foods have a value between 56 and 69. In general, most low-starch foods such as vegetables, legumes and nuts and even some fruits have a low GI. Whole-grain breads and pastas have a medium GI and potatoes and refined-grain breads and pastries have a high GI. Cooking a food usually increases its digestibility and its GI.

Dietary Fiber

Choose foods that contain natural dietary fiber, especially the water-soluble forms of dietary fiber that are found in legumes, vegetables, fruits and some whole grains. Fiber is not digested in your intestines. Soluble fiber tends to increase the viscosity or thickness of the intestinal contents after a meal, which slows carbohydrate digestion and glucose absorption. Oats and barley contain a soluble form of fiber called beta-glucan, and this type of fiber can lower the rise in your blood glucose level following a meal. Additionally, soluble fibers are fermented in your colon to produce short-chain fatty acids that help to prevent your liver from secreting too much glucose into your blood during overnight fasting.

Complex Meals

Your meals are likely a complex combination of a variety of foods. The fats in your meals can affect glucose absorption from starchy foods. The simple act of putting butter on your baked potato can lower the rise in your blood sugar after eating the potato. The smaller rise in blood glucose caused by combining fat with starch appears to be independent of the type of fat, as polyunsaturated fats can have the same effect as saturated fats. Therefore, try adding almonds, which contain healthier polyunsaturated fat, to your brown rice and including in your meal fatty fish, such as salmon, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Phytonutrients