Carbohydrates and Indian Meals

If you have HNF1A or HNF4A-MODY, the defining feature of your glucose pattern is a large rise after eating, with a fasting level that may look only mildly raised. That makes meals the place where changes show up.

The two levers are portion and pairing, and they apply straightforwardly to Indian food.

Portion means the rice or roti share of the plate. The usual framework works well: half the plate non-starchy vegetables, a quarter protein — dal, curd, paneer, egg, fish or chicken — and a quarter the staple. For most people that is noticeably less rice than they are used to, with the volume made up by sabzi.

Pairing means what goes alongside. Protein, fat and fibre slow the whole meal down. Curd with a meal helps. Eating the salad or vegetables before the rice changes what follows.

Be sceptical of grain-swapping as a solution. Measured Indian data found that being a wholegrain does not make a food low-GI — several millet preparations scored high, while whole pulses scored very low. Dals are doing more for you than most millet swaps.

And test rather than guess. A paired reading before and two hours after your regular meals will tell you which of them is the actual problem, which is more useful than any general list.