The Low GI Shoppers Guide 2009

Completely revised 2009 Edition! Find all the latest GI values for all your favourite foods. This guide will help you to compare your favourite foods and preferred brands so you can make low glycemic substitutions that really matter. This easy-to-use guide gives you:

• The Glycemic Index values for over 900 foods
• A-Z tables by food category, making it easy to find and compare high glycemic & low glycemic foodsfoods
• A low, medium or high GI rating for each food
• A shopping list of low GI essentials to make shopping quicker and healthier
• A guide to eating out and the healthiest takeaway food options
• Ideas for gluten-free eating and living.

Don’t go shopping without it! Click Here to order your copy of the Low GI Shoppers Guide to GI Values 2009 from “Fishpond” Australia’s most trusted online bookstore!

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Low GI Diet Tips #1

Low GI Diet Tips #1

In order to promote a healthy body from the inside and out, these tips and strategies can help you follow the path of a low gi diet lifestyle. They’ll help to increase your intake of healthy carbohydrates, manage your weight and reduce your likelihood of falling prey to ill health.

Eat more fruit and vegetables – 7 serves a day!

Research shows time and time again that a low gi diet, high in fruits and vegetables, will significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, many cancers and other degenerative diseases – as well as weight loss. Be sure to eat a wide variety of differently coloured fruits and vegetables, so that you’re getting a broad spectrum of nutrients and antioxidants to promote good health. Remember though, to eat the whole fruit, not just the juice! Also, if you have a small amount of protein, like nuts, seeds, yoghurt, etc at the same time as having a piece of fruit, you’ll feel full longer, and reduce the overall glycemic load of your snack.

Eat more nuts!

Because nuts and seeds are largely protein, they’re also very low glycemic. They’re an excellent source of essential fatty acids (EFA’s), which are “essential” for our overall health – everything from diabetes to heart disease, brain function, skin health, hormonal issues … and the list goes on. EFA’s can’t be manufactured by our bodies, so they need to come from our diet. Sadly, many people trying to lose weight have avoided eating nuts because of their high fat content and, in so doing, have missed out on important nutrients that can actually support healthy weight maintenance.

A few nuts daily is all you need. Choose a wide variety of favourites and make sure they’re unroasted, as high temperatures will destroy the essential fatty acids. Add them to salads, breakfasts, enjoy them with fruit, or as a simple snack.

Eat more beans!

Many of us in western countries, don’t eat as many beans and pulses in our diet as our Eastern counterparts. Beans, peas and lentils are nutrient dense, high in protein, and rich in nutrients. Being low gi, add them to soups, stews and salads, or puree them into tasty dips to have with fresh vegetables as a tasty snack.

Eat whole grains instead!

Forget about the super soft, white, fluffy, high gi bread on supermarket shelves. Look for the heavier whole grain varieties, with visible grain and seeds and a low gi. Instead of mashed potatoes, choose brown or basmati rice, and experiment with quinoa, freekah, wild rice – or other ancient grains. There are so many nutrient rich foods that nature provides, that it seems a shame to limit our diets to only a handful of foods to which we’ve become accustomed. The more we look for better choices, the more we’ll find – and enjoy!

Glycemic Index List of Foods

A low glycemic index diet is one of the best ways to look after your health, and lose excess weight effectively and naturally. The weight reduced through a low GI diet approach is safe, and you won’t find yourself needing to starve on just carrots and lettuce! The glycemic index ranks the foods from 0–100 according to the speed at which they effect your blood sugar levels in the 2 or 3 hours after eating. In the glycemic index list of foods, the foods with a glycemic index value below 55 are low GI foods, foods ranking 55–70 are moderate GI foods, and foods with a GI value 70–100 are high GI foods.

• High GI (70-100) Carbohydrates which break down quickly during digestion, releasing blood sugar rapidly into the bloodstream – causing marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

• Medium GI (56-69) Carbohydrates which break down moderately during digestion, releasing blood sugar moderately into the bloodstream.

• Low GI (0-55) Carbohydrates which break down slowly during digestion, releasing blood sugar gradually into the bloodstream – keeping blood sugar levels steady … and so provide you with the best health benefits!

Low GI foods are often the ones with “good” carbohydrates, low fat, high dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. These foods help in keeping the blood sugar levels stable, are beneficial for sports persons, diabetics, people with coronary heart disease, those wanting to lose weight … and really just about everyone!

But … one word of warning … watch out for companies branding their products with “Low GI” labels. Just because a food is low GI, doesn’t necessarily make it a good food! Some foods may have a low GI, but may be high in “bad” fats, or are high in additives, flavourings, colourings, or preservatives. Always check the full ingredients list! … And also ensure that a large proportion of the foods that you eat are as minimally processed as possible!

When referring to any GI Food List, please remember that the numbers aren’t absolute and should serve as a guide only. The impact any particular food will have on your blood sugar levels on any given day will depend on many other factors such as ripeness, cooking time, product brand, fibre and fat content, time of day, blood insulin levels, and recent activity. Use the Glycemic Index as just one of the many tools you have available to improve your control.

The list only covers a few selective food items, but it will give you a starting point as to how you can use the GI in your health or weight loss regime.

Also check out Low GI Diet Tips to help make a low GI lifestyle easier to understand! (Click Here to return to HOME PAGE)

Glycemic Index List of Foods

Because these numbers are compiled from various sources, the numbers may differ slightly from other Glycemic Index  food lists. (Click Here to return to HOME PAGE)