The GI Jungle

Most Australians would have heard of the term Glycemic Index by now, often abbreviated to GI, and there's been a lot of news about GI in recent months.

While originally intended to help people with diabetes control their blood glucose levels, the concept of GI has evolved into a tool for controlling energy levels and hunger.

The Glycemic Index system ranks carbohydrate-containing foods on a scale from zero to 100 to indicate how quickly, or slowly, carbohydrates are broken down by the body to produce glucose. Low GI foods score around 55 or less on this scale and high GI foods are ranked over 70.

Glycemic Index can be useful when making food choices, especially if you have diabetes. However, you shouldn't rely exclusively on this measure because low GI foods aren't always the healthiest choices in terms of their overall nutritional value.

Nutrient content is still the most important consideration when selecting what to eat. If faced with a slice of watermelon or a chocolate bar, the obvious nutritional choice is the fruit - even though watermelon is labelled 'high GI' because of the sugar content, and chocolate is scored as 'low GI' because it is high in fat.

A food's GI is influenced by factors including nutrient content, the extent to which the food is processed, the cooking method, food combinations and, in the case of fruits and vegetables, ripeness.

Does low GI help with weight loss?
The low GI diet focuses on changing eating habits to include more foods from the low GI food group. This can help to:

control blood glucose levels throughout the day

maintain an even appetite and prevent feelings of hunger

The combination of these two effects can help weight loss efforts by helping to avoid 'energy slumps' throughout the day.

[Official guidelines recommend about half of your daily diet should be made up of carbohydrate foods like bread, breakfast cereal, pasta and rice, legumes, fruits and vegetables]

Watch out
Don't forget that your body relies on carbohydrate to fuel the brain, nervous system and red blood cells. So cutting down on carbohydrates, or filling up on the wrong types, can leave you irritable and low in energy.

Carbohydrate foods such as bread, breakfast cereals, oats, crispbreads, pasta and rice are nutritious and should be eaten often. It's best to minimise 'empty' carbs such as lollies, soft drinks and cakes. While these foods may have a low GI, they offer little in the way of nutrients

Used in conjunction with information about the nutritional value of foods, GI can be a useful guide. But remember, a healthy diet can include both high and low GI foods.

Trish Griffiths (BSc, DipNutrDiet, GradDipCommM, MPH, APD) is the Executive Manager of Go Grains Health and Nutrition

For more health and nutrition information and recipe ideas, visit: www.gograins.com.au

Choosing Lower GI Foods

Low GI Foods

Rolled oats or oat based cereal like muesli

Fibre-based shredded bran cereals

Breakfast cereals with psyllium

Bread with plenty of visible grains

Heavy rye (black breads) and pumpernickel breads

Breads with oat bran or barley bran

Sour dough breads

10 low GI snacks

Low-fat yoghurt

corn on the cob

slice of raisin toast or fruit loaf

snack of fruit in natural juice

20 cherries

small can of baked beans

5-6 apricot halves

slice of grainy toast with jam

low-fat flavoured milk

1 peach or pear