GI for Prevention... Diabetes Australia

Home | Login or Become a Member

Sitemap

Latest News
Latest Research

07 July 2008

Low GI diet reduces cancer risk

A new Italian study says a low Glycemic Index diet may reduce the risk of developing cancer.

02 July 2008

Medicare item looks to prevention

The Federal Government has introduced a new Medicare item aimed at identifying people at high risk of type 2 diabetes and stopping the disease before it is diagnosed.

03 July 2008

Diabetes link for men whose sisters have PCOS

Men whose sisters have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) are at higher risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

26 June 2008

People with type 1 satisfied with newer insulins

People with type 1 diabetes who take the newer insulin analogues report greater satisfaction and better quality of life.

Home > Living well with diabetes > Healthy eating...

GI for Prevention

Carbohydrate foods
Carbohydrate foods are one of the best sources of energy for our body. Foods high in carbohydrate include fruit, milk, yoghurt, breads, cereals, legumes (eg dried beans, lentils, chickpeas) and starchy vegetables like corn, potato, and sweet potato.

Not all carbohydrate foods are the same. All carbohydrate foods are converted to glucose, but they do so at different rates – some slow, some fast. Previously, carbohydrate foods were grouped according to how much sugar and starch (complex carbohydrate) they contained. Foods high in sugars include fruit, dairy foods and table sugar (sucrose), whereas foods high in starch include breads, cereals, legumes, and starchy vegetables. It was assumed that sugars were quickly absorbed into the blood while starches were slowly absorbed. Based on these assumptions, people were advised to eat mainly starches and to limit foods that were high in sugars.

The Glycemic Index
In the 1980s, a new method of classifying carbohydrate foods called the Glycemic Index was invented. It proved once and for all that not all sugars are absorbed quickly into the blood and that not all starches are slowly absorbed. The GI is a ranking of carbohydrates in food according to their effect on blood glucose (sugar) levels (BGLs) after eating. Foods with a low GI (55 or less) cause blood glucose levels to rise more slowly, over a longer period of time than high GI foods (70 or more).

Therefore, lower GI foods are the best choices when trying to maintain constant energy levels throughout the day, and when aiming to keep BGLs steady for longer. Higher GI foods, on the other hand, may be useful for athletes during prolonged physical activity (longer than one hour) to top up the body’s energy supply quickly, and to replace lost energy and carbohydrate (glycogen) stores immediately after their event.

Benefits of a Low GI Diet
Research has shown that a higher GI diet may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. On the other hand, a lower GI, high fibre diet may help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A low GI diet may also help reduce triglycerides, and total and LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol, which overall may help protect against heart disease.

Another major risk factor for developing both type 2 diabetes and heart disease is being overweight or obese. Low GI foods may enhance the feelings of fullness after eating. This may assist in weight loss as it can help reduce overeating and help keep people feeling fuller for longer so that their total kilojoule intake may be reduced. Read more information about weight loss.

Eating the Low GI Way
In order to eat a lower GI diet, all carbohydrate foods that you eat do not need to be low GI. In order to lower the average GI of your diet, you should try to eat at least one serve of low GI carbohydrates at each meal, or base at least two meals each day on low GI choices. The following table lists commonly eaten lower GI foods:

Food Group	Examples
Breads	Wholegrain, Multigrain, Fruit loaf
Cereals	Pasta, noodles, rice vermicelli Basmati or Doongara rice Breakfast cereals eg. All-bran, Guardian, Traditional Rolled Oats
Vegetables - starchy	Sweet potato, Sweet corn
Legumes	All dried beans (except broad), lentils and chickpeas
Fruits	Orchard fruits: eg apples, apricots, grapefruits, oranges, pears, peach, plums.
Dairy	Milk, yoghurt, custard, ice cream (choose low fat options)

Regular physical activity is also an essential part of preventing type 2 diabetes, click here for more information.

A common misunderstanding
Some people may think that in order to improve their health, only low GI foods should be eaten and that all high GI foods should be avoided. This is not the case. A lower GI diet can still be achieved while eating some high GI foods – it is the average GI of your diet that counts. Also, all low GI foods are not necessarily the best choice. For example, potato chips (crisps) have a low GI but they are high in fat, whereas most potatoes have a high GI, but they are generally low in fat. Therefore, when choosing foods, it is important that you don’t just look at the foods GI: you should also ensure that the food is lower in fat, particularly saturated fat, and higher in fibre.

Learn more about GI and food labelling.

For more information on GI, including a list of foods and their GI, visit the official GI website.

Page last updated: 17 March 2008