Low-GI dietary pattern
Choose carbohydrates that raise blood sugar more slowly. Acts mainly on HbA1c and triglycerides.
Order of magnitude
Most carbohydrate from legumes, oats, whole grains and al-dente pasta rather than white flour and sugar.
Who you are decides whether this works.
Effects in detail
Each row is a directed edge from our database, with range, latency, evidence grade and the condition under which it applies at all.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apolipoprotein B | helps. Lowers Direction known, size not established Across 29 trial comparisons in 1617 people with diabetes, low glycaemic index or load dietary patterns reduced LDL-C, non-HDL-C and apolipoprotein B (all p<0.05) alongside HbA1c and body weight. Direction only: the abstract lists apolipoprotein B among the outcomes reduced but prints no figure for it (gaps_batch2.md G-QC1). | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Triglycerides | helps. Lowers Direction known, size not established The same 29 comparisons reduced triglycerides (p<0.05) together with the other lipid measures. Direction only, no figure in the abstract. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HbA1c | helps. Lowers -0.31 percentage points of HbA1c confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect Twenty-nine trial comparisons in 1617 people with diabetes give an HbA1c reduction of 0.31 percentage points (95 % CI -0.42 to -0.19), alongside reductions in fasting glucose, LDL-C, apolipoprotein B, triglycerides, body weight and systolic blood pressure. Substantial heterogeneity (I2 75 %). | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Systolic blood pressure | helps. Lowers Direction known, size not established Across 29 trial comparisons in 1617 people with diabetes, low glycaemic index or load dietary patterns reduced systolic blood pressure with a dose-response gradient, while diastolic blood pressure was explicitly among the outcomes that did not change. No magnitude is entered because the abstract lists systolic blood pressure among the outcomes reduced without giving the number (gaps_batch2.md G-GI1). | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value |
What this measure costs
Counteracting effects of the same measure.
No counteracting effect is on file for this measure. That does not mean there is none, only that we found no defensible edge.
Moves without implying progress
Informational or no established effect: the marker moves or was checked, and that is not progress.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diastolic blood pressure | checked, nothing happens. No established effect Across 29 trial comparisons in 1617 people with diabetes, low glycaemic index or load dietary patterns reduced systolic blood pressure with a dose-response gradient, while diastolic blood pressure was explicitly among the outcomes that did not change. A reported null, not an absence of data: diastolic blood pressure is explicitly named among the outcomes that did NOT change, alongside blood insulin, HDL-C and waist circumference. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| high-sensitivity CRP | moves, and does not count. Lowers Direction known, size not established In 29 trial comparisons in 1617 people with diabetes, low glycaemic index or load dietary patterns reduced CRP (p<0.05) alongside HbA1c, fasting glucose, LDL-C, apolipoprotein B, triglycerides, body weight and systolic blood pressure. Direction only: the abstract lists CRP among the outcomes reduced but gives no figure for it (gaps_batch2.md G-GI2). | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value |
Sources
Full details of every study the rows above rely on.
Effect of low glycaemic index or load dietary patterns on glycaemic control and cardiometabolic risk factors in diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Chiavaroli et al. · BMJ · 2021 · Meta-analysis
Effects of high vs low glycemic index of dietary carbohydrate on cardiovascular disease risk factors and insulin sensitivity: the OmniCarb randomized clinical trial
Sacks et al. · JAMA · 2014 · Randomised trial