You’ve probably heard about the benefits of following a low GI diet for weight loss, but you may not know that it’s also great for your skin and can help keep it youthful as you age.

If you’re new to this diet, a low GI diet means you eat foods that are on the lower end of the glycemic index, an index that measures how quickly your body breaks down food and turns it into sugar. Foods that are filling and take the longest to convert are on the lower end of the GI index. Those that are less satiating and break down faster are on the higher end.

Ideally, you should aim to eat at the lower end of the GI scale, with some foods in the mid-range and only a few at the higher end.

It may not seem obvious at first, but eating this way can be beneficial for your skin and not just your body. Here’s how: When you eat high GI foods, your blood sugar rises, causing your insulin levels to spike. Insulin is the hormone that promotes fat gain.

Keeping insulin levels elevated results in the conversion of type 3 collagen to type 1, which is the more fragile collagen. Your skin, then, also ends up looking brittle and aged. By following the principles of the Low GI diet, you feed your body and skin with foods that have a low GI and keep your skin healthy, supple and youthful looking.

Following the low GI diet is not too difficult. It may take a bit of planning if you’re going to eat out, but it’s not a complex diet to follow.

Let’s say you’re eating breakfast and you typically choose a boxed cereal. Most processed grains are high GI so this is not a good option, but you can opt to eat oatmeal (unsweetened) instead and add some toasted nuts for crunch. You can top it with skim milk and even a dollop of yogurt. And if you want, also have a boiled egg.

It’s important to make a distinction: This is not a high-protein diet. You can eat oatmeal and whole grain breads. In fact, it is recommended that those on a low GI diet eat grains, but they should be of the low GI whole grain variety.

For lunch, you can make some easy changes. Steer clear of the burgers, which are often sandwiched with empty white bread (big blood sugar spike), but go for a healthy salad with vinaigrette instead. Or you can choose a veggie burger on a whole wheat bun. There are no fries made with regular potatoes, but if new potatoes are on the menu, enjoy them.

Dinner is probably the easiest meal of the day for low GI dieters. It’s easy to throw some meat on the grill, add some vegetables and a salad and you’re done. If you normally enjoy rice with your meal, swap white rice for basmati rice, which ranks low on the GI index. Skip the garlic bread. Add a salad.

As a snack, simple! Instead of cookies and cakes, eat yogurt, either vanilla or fruit. Yogurt has good protein levels that slow down the absorption of carbohydrates, helping to lower the GI value of any food.

So there you have it.

If you’re eating well on the GI scale, you’ll feel it. Not only will your skin look better, but you’ll have more energy. That, in turn, will give you the energy to exercise and continue your new way of eating. Then you’ll likely lose weight, which helps your skin in other ways. All in all, it’s a win-win eating plan.