Lots of diets come and go — one day, fat is the enemy, then it’s our friend as long as we avoid eggs, and so on. Morning TV shows, womens’ magazines and book publishers make a mint out of them.
However, putting all those fad diets aside, there’s one thing that stands up to common sense: eating a balanced diet and getting enough exercise is the key to staying healthy. Where we fall down as Western-world eaters is understanding what a “balanced diet” really is. Your bloodstream knows, though. Some foods create big spikes in blood sugar, and those big spikes create short term satisfaction, followed by hunger soon afterwards. It feeds into a vicious cycle of eating more and more of these foods to give you the sugar spike to ward off the resulting low.
Sydney University in Australia started measuring people’s blood sugars after eating different sorts of foods and this research became known as the “Glycemic Index”. The University fed volunteers a variety of foods under controlled conditions (with each food test repeated over and over again to get a reliable average) and measured the effect of blood sugars in their bloodstream. Foods that converted into glucose in the volunteers’ bloodstreams more slowly were deemed “low GI”.
Eating these sorts of foods that are slowly converted by the body into blood glucose creates lasting satisfaction, puts the body’s blood sugar system under less strain and reduces the chance that you’ll binge on unhealthy food because you’re hungry.
If you’re trying to become healthier and lose weight, learning about the glycemic index of food is essential. Put simply, the glycemic index, or “GI”, of a food rates how quickly the body converts a food into glucose in the bloodstream. For example, a food with a GI rating of 40 is considered “low GI”. Many foods are sold with “low GI” labels to help you pick them out on supermarket shelves.
Apart from keeping you satisfied for longer and preventing the tendency to eat more to get the sugar spike (which helps you lose weight), there’s another important health aspect of eating low GI. The slower a food converts to glucose in the bloodstream, the better it is in terms of reducing the strain on your body’s blood sugar system. It requires the body to produce less insulin and the organ that produces insulin, the pancreas, is much less likely to become “exhausted”, which can lead to type II diabetes — an endemic disease in the Western world.
Eating Low GI foods reduces your risk of becoming diabetic, and if you are already diabetic, but working on controlling the disease through diet and exercise (possibly with the assistance of pill-form medication), it is the way to eat healthily without getting spikes in your blood sugar.
There is one more important thing you should know: because fat slows the digestion of food, many foods that are technically low GI are actually high in fat — cheese, or icecream for example. This can be bad news if you are trying to lose weight and/or lower your blood cholesterol levels. That doesn’t mean you should avoid all foods with fat, since some fats are actually good for you.
About the recipes
The recipes on this site have been created by Sydney, Australia-based foodie Libby Warne. Where recipes are based on other people’s original recipes, I have credited them. If a credit is missing, please contact me and it will be corrected as soon as possible.
About GI
The glycemic index was researched by Sydney University in conjunction with the CSIRO, based on original research by the University of Toronto. Check out Sydney University’s great glycemic index website here. You can buy Prof Jennie Brand Miller’s low GI recipe books through Amazon.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A THIS LOW GI DIET, BUT YOU HAVE A GLUCOSE ALLERGY?
Hi Karla,
I have never heard of a glucose allergy. I have heard of lactose
intolerance which you can read about here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance
I think it would be best to check with the doctor who told you you
have this allergy and ask for more information.
Best wishes, Libby
Hi. I was just diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2. At present no medication, however, have to watch my diet. I loved Ice Cream and fruits, and a glass or two of wine. What do you recommend that I start with first. I do exercise. Thanks. This is my first on E Mail.
Hi Selda, I would suggest checking out two of the links on the 'links'
section of my site. The Official GI website has lots of information,
and a monthly newsletter you can subscribe to. There is also a lot of
information on Diabetes Australia/ Diabetes American sites and these
would be good starting points to learn more about diabetic diet.
Certainly on a low GI diabetic diet you should be able to enjoy as
much fresh fruit as you like! We still eat ice-cream, we choose Bulla
Lite, which is the lowest sugar and fat on the market (though you can
also buy sugar free ice cream – which is creamier, so we avoid it
because of the cholesterol, and just eat less (only a small scoop) of
Bulla lite, and usually with lots of fruit.
My understanding is that wine in moderation is fine too – but you
should also talk to your doctor. Check out the links I've posted, and
keep coming back here, or subscribe by email for my recipe ideas! I'll
keep updating each time I try a new recipe, and all are diabetes
friendly.
Enjoy!
What is the best alternative to sugar? Something to help sweeten oatmeal, all bran, etc
Good question! I wish I knew the best answer…it depends probably on why you want to reduce sugar- ie weight loss, diabetes, general health…
I’ve been planning a review article (like the bread one) about sugar-
I personally like to sweeten things with fresh sweet fruits (strawberries, pears, apples, cherries, banana, grapes)- grated, sliced, or mashed…then you get all the benefits of fruit too (fibre, vitamins, minerals) which fruit concentrates or fructose substitutes lose in processing…
More to follow- watch out for the “I’m baffled- which sweetener is best?” post…
I use Stevia drops 400 times sweeter then sugar and (most important) it won't raise the bloodsuger level. It comes from a plant in South America.
You may also use AGAVE sirup, less sweet then stevia but also a very good (low GI) alternative for suger.
Good point Vincent… Libby's latest post looks at some of these sugar alternatives. Agave isn't necessarily as good as you might think it is, because although it is low GI, it is so because it is high fructose — which puts a strain on the liver if eaten in large quantities. You can read the post about sweeteners here: http://lowgicooking.com/sweeteners/
I have just been diagnosed with Hypoglycemia. I have a severe nut allergy and find it difficult to know what to eat these days. Could you give me some pointers please?
Hi Maya, I don’t know much about hypogylcemia and diets, but can I suggest an appointment with a qualified dietician to do some meal planning for your family. Getting this kind of thing right is very important. The low GI diet is good for general health, weightloss, and for those who need to eat less carbs, but the core to many of my recipes is nuts. I am not a dietician, and so would not be qualified to give you this kind of advice. Best of luck finding the answer to your query!
Hi Libby,
I'm researching a low GI diet to try and aid in my weight lost. I work long hours and not very organised, just wondering what you could suggest as some simple ideas for breakfast as I'm not a big cereal eater.
Thanks.
What sorts of breakfast do you like to eat best at the moment? I imagine something quick? Do you make it at home, buy it out, or skip it altogether? Give me some ideas what you like and I’ll focus on breakfasts for this weekends postings to help you answer this!