The Glycaemic Index (GI) is a ranking of individual carbohydrate foods, based on their effect on our blood glucose (or blood sugar) levels. The GI ranks foods from 0 to 100. High GI foods (GI >70) raise blood glucose levels quite dramatically, medium GI foods (GI 55-70) raise blood glucose levels moderately, whereas low GI foods (GI <55) raise blood glucose levels just a little.
Low GI foods in a nutshell
- Foods with a lower GI break down slowly during digestion
- Including a low GI food at every meal can help to reduce the overall GI of your meals. For example, adding a low GI food like a tub of fruit yogurt to a higher GI food like watermelon will help to reduce the overall GI of the meal
- Low GI foods are more likely to fill you up and keep you satisfied for longer. So, adding low GI foods to your meals can reduce the desire to snack between meals – that’s good news for weight watchers!
Examples of foods with a low GI include
Porridge, UNCLE TOBYS muesli, fruit loaf, wholegrain bread, plain sponge cake, apple juice, pineapple juice, plain milk, MILO with milk, NESTLÉ Hot Choc prepared with water, NESTLÉ Malted Milk drink prepared with milk, yogurt, pasta, sweet potato, sweet corn, pea soup, baked beans, lentils, chick peas, NESTLÉ Mousse Dessert Mix made with water, cherries, grapefruit, dried apricots, apples, pears and plums. Both Doongara rice and Basmati rice have a medium GI.
So, are low GI foods the goodies?
It is important to note that a food is not ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on its GI value. Therefore, your food choices should not be solely based on their GI value. Eating a wide variety of foods from the core food groups, and including some lower GI foods, is the key to a balanced and enjoyable way of eating.
High GI foods in a nutshell
Foods with a higher GI break down the fastest during digestion. High GI foods are useful for some groups of people, such as athletes, who need a fast supply of glucose to fuel their muscles during and after competition.
Examples of foods with a high GI include: white bread, wholemeal bread, crumpets, English muffins, pikelets, plain scones, water crackers, puffed crispbread, some rice-based foods like rice bubble cereal and rice cakes, Calrose and Jasmine rice, potato (including baked, mashed, steamed & boiled), swede and watermelon.