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What is the Glycemic Index?

Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal in fact, they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or GI is how we describe this difference, ranking carbohydrate (sugars and starches) according to their effect on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion have high GI values. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low GI values. It has been shown that carbohydrate foods with a high GI cause spikes in glucose levels whereas low GI foods tend to cause gentle rises. Understanding the GI of foods helps you choose both the right amount of carbohydrate and the right type of carbohydrate for your long-term health and wellbeing.

What are the Benefits of the Glycemic Index?

Eating a lot of high GI foods can be detrimental to your health because it pushes your body to extremes. This is especially true if you are overweight and sedentary. Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals.

• Low GI diets help people lose and control weight
• Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
• Low GI carbs improve diabetes control
• Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease
• Low GI carbs reduce blood cholesterol levels
• Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS
• Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer
• Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance
• High GI carbs help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise

How to Switch to a Low GI Diet

The basic technique for eating the low GI way is simply a "this for that" approach - i.e., swapping high GI carbs for low GI carbs. You don't need to count numbers or do any sort of mental arithmetic to make sure you are eating a healthy, low GI diet.

• Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
• Use breads with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, sour dough
• Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
• Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables
• Use Basmati, Arborio or Japanese sushi rice
• Enjoy pasta, noodles, quinoa

Click here for a table showing example GI values (PDF file).