It’s also important to keep in mind that a late evening or midnight snack is not a good habit.  Remember too, that it’s best not to skip meals or allow yourself to feel overly hungry, as you’d be undoing your health-related and weight loss goals in the process. It only causes more spiking and plummeting of blood sugar levels, whereas we really need to be keeping those blood sugar levels steady.

When snacking, usually a small handful is sufficient to keep you going. Stay on track by making some healthy, low glycemic choices when you get the munchies.

Try these smart Low GI Snacks ideas:
•    A small handful of mixed nuts
•    A small bowl of freshly popped popcorn
•    A few mixed grain crackers topped with ricotta cheese
•    Celery or a banana topped with natural peanut butter
•    Wholegrain pita chips topped with hummous
•    Baked corn chips with fresh salsa
•    Fresh or dried fruit
•    A hardboiled egg
•    Fresh cut vegetables
•    An oat bran muffin
•    Lentil dip with fresh carrot sticks, celery and cauliflower
•    Yoghurt topped with muesli
•    Banana smoothie
•    Trail mix made with dried fruit, nuts and seeds

Foods to avoid:
•    Sweets and lollies
•    Potato chips
•    Salted, roasted peanuts and other nuts
•    Pastries and cakes
•    Icecream
•    Biscuits and crackers

Just remember to keep some at the ready in your pantry, desk drawer, or handbag, so that you won’t be tempted by other less healthy options. And enjoy making up new options for healthy low gi snacks!

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To get you started, try some of these Healthy Low GI Desserts:
•    Fruit salads – try different combinations with fresh, frozen, or even canned varieties
•    Homemade gelati made with frozen berries blended with a little natural yoghurt
•    Homemade rolled oat biscuits
•    Fruit crumble topped with natural muesli and flaked coconut – most fruits work well
•    Poached fruit
•    Coconut coated baked bananas
•    Baked apples with dried fruits and nuts
•    Two or three scorched almonds (not the whole box, though!)
•    A small piece of dark chocolate (with >70% cocoa)

Things to avoid:
•    Cream and icecream
•    Full fat sweetened yoghurts
•    Desserts made with refined sugar and white flour
•    Pastries and cakes

The possibilities of good options are endless – buy a new low gi cookbook – or have fun rummaging through your old ones. You’ll find many recipes, perhaps with just minor modifications, to make excellent low gi desserts!

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• 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  The Low GI: Shopper’s Guide to GI Values 2010 from “Fishpond” Australia’s most trusted online bookstore!

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Following a low gi diet doesn’t have to be complicated! And, there’s no need to consult low gi food lists, once you come to understand that it’s really just about eating foods as close as possible to their original state in nature, with minimal processing.

Here are a few additional tips to help with a low gi diet lifestyle –

Reduce (or eliminate!) sugary foods!

Do we really need all of those refined sugar laden sweets, soft drinks, fruit drinks, desserts, cakes and biscuits? Probably not! There are many great alternatives so make a conscious effort to make more natural choices. Check out the great dessert and snack suggestion on this website, or perhaps you could even invest in a great low gi cookbook.

However, you also need to mindful of all the hidden sugars in foods. Once you start reading more and more product labels, you’ll find refined sugar in just about everything on the supermarket shelves – from canned vegetables, flavoured tuna, savoury biscuits, baked beans … and the list goes on! And if we’re not careful, our daily sugar intake can climb rapidly without even being aware.

Eat small, regular meals

Missing meals is never a good idea! … Your blood sugar levels will fall too low causing fatique, mental … And it definitely won’t help with your weight loss goals either! Start each day with a healthy low gi breakfast for sustained energy. Allow yourself a midmorning low gi snack, a good lunch, a low glycemic mid afternoon snack, and finally a balanced evening meal. It’s better to graze on smaller meals and healthy, low glycemic snacks than to eat three large meals a day. Also avoid the temptation for late evening nibbles that can also be disruptive to sleep.

Go for at least two low glycemic meals each day

Ideally it would be best if all of our meals were low GI, but with our busy lifestyles, together and the availability fast foods and takeaways, causes us to occasionally stray off course with our low gi diet. If we can strive for at least two solid low gi meals each day, we’re at least able to sustain relatively steady blood sugar levels for the most part, and can improve from there. A lifestyle of low gi eating becomes a habit with practice. Begin with a good breakfast and have lots of pre-prepared snacks on hand, and you’re half way there!

A  low gi diet is really very simple, but it does take time to make it a way of life. You’ll feel better, more alive, and more full of energy, making it all worthwhile!

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Remembering that a low gi diet is a lifestyle choice, rather than a “quick fix”, here are useful suggestions for following a low gi diet liestyle when you’re eating out.

Low GI Tips For Eating Out:

•    Don’t go when you’re starving – perhaps even eat a small low gi snack before you go out
•    Avoid buffets and “all you can eat” restaurants
•    Limit alcoholic drinks
•    Order foods that have been prepared in a healthy way – steamed, stir fried, lightly roasted
•    If portions are large, split yours with someone else or order an entrée size
•    Be willing to ask for meal substitutions or adjustments – restaurants are becoming more capable of adapting to people’s varied dietary needs, including that of a low gi diet
•    Keep low-glycemic foods in mind and order the best choice available

The following are some low gi diet tips for specific types of restaurants:

Chinese
•    Clear broth soups like hot and sour, egg drop, or wonton are good choices
•    Order traditional dishes that feature smaller portions of lean proteins (meat, chicken, seafood, tofu) stir-fried with lots of assorted vegetables and tasty sauces
•    Avoid overly sweet sauces like sweet & sour, lemon, or plum. Try black bean, oyster or Szechuan instead
•    Avoid fried foods (like spring rolls, dim sims, etc) Order brown rice, if available

Thai
•    Order dishes that combine proteins (meat or tofu) with vegetables
•    Choose curry, chili, basil, lime, and fish sauces
•    Opt for long-grain rice over white rice
•    Try pad thai and other stir-fried noodle dishes, ask for less oil to be used in the preparation

Greek
•    Choose roasted lamb or chicken dishes prepared with lemon and yoghurt
•    Try baked fish and chicken dishes that are healthily prepared
•    Make sure to order Greek salads
•    Avoid the filo-dough, large amounts of feta cheese, and excessive amounts of olive oil

Indian
•    Order healthily prepared legumes, chicken, fish, and vegetables
•    Try the tomato-based sauces and tandoori dishes
•    Choose basmati rice (it’s low gi!) as a side, or in biryanis, and chapati bread
•    Avoid sauces made with large amounts of butter or coconut milk

Italian
•    Choose tomato or marsala sauces
•    Order an entrée sized portion of pasta with a large serving of salad
•    If ordering pizza, choose thin-crust with low-fat cheese and loaded with vegetables
•    Avoid the white bread (high gi!) and cheesy, creamy sauces

Japanese
•    Try miso soup and soy beans (edamame) for starters
•    Choose sushi, sashimi, yakitori, teriyaki, sukiyaki, and grilled dishes
•    Order udon or soba noodles
•    Limit the rice and avoid tempura

French
•    Choose tomato/wine sauces, broth-based soups
•    Look for Mediterranean-style dishes
•    Order broiled, steamed, or poached foods
•    Be sure to order a salad or large serves of vegetables
•    Avoid the bread and high-fat sauces

Mexican
•    Order grilled seafood and chicken dishes: tacos, burritos, fajitas
•    Ask for low-fat cheese, whole-wheat tortillas, and light sour cream
•    Avoid the cheese and refried beans
•    Limit guacamole

See! It’s easier than you think to eat out, eat well and be fully satisfied, when following the lifestyle of a low gi diet.

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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!

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Low Glycemic Diet vs High Glycemic Diet – Did you know:

• Australia has recently taken over from the USA as the “fattest” nation on earth, with 2 out of every 3 people either overweight or obese.
• We have over 3 million people with diabetes, plus half that number again who don’t even know it.
• The rate of type 2 diabetes in children is increasing every year – and historically this disease didn’t affect people until over 40.
• Among adults, the leading cause of death is heart related diseases, with 50% of heart attacks occurring before the age of 60 … with the first symptom being sudden death.
• One in two women over 60 have osteoporosis?
• Depression is believed to be the next huge epidemic to affect the western world.
• Three out of every four people will have at least one degenerative disease by age 65?

The frightening thing about these statistics is that, despite the greatest advancements in medicine, the effects of ill health are accelerating at alarming rates. So, why is this happening?

These diseases are thought to be largely lifestyle-related … and the food that we eat is a big factor … with changes that have occurred in our eating from a low GI diet to a high GI diet.

Let’s think back to our great, great grandparents time. Food was prepared in the home, largely straight from the tree to the table or the field to the plate. Carbohydrates arrived as in-season fruits & vegetables, beans and wholegrain cereals. Our ancestors ate low gi foods naturally. They didn’t have the white, bleached, fluffy flour (with the husk and nutritious “germ”removed) that made up most of the breads, cakes, pastries, cereals and pasta we eat today. Instant porridge, instant rice, and 5-minute noodles were non-existent – low gi foods were plentiful!

It was a time when food was nutrient rich and it didn’t come from supermarkets. It wasn’t overly processed or pre-packaged, and colourings, flavourings, preservatives, additives and E-numbers were unheard of! In fact, the bulk of the “processing” of the food happened after it was eaten … within the body itself! It took the body a long time to process the complex carbohydrates, fibre and healthy built-in nutrients and oils the food inherently contained. This provided the body with a gradual release of sugars into the bloodstream, leaving people feeling full and satisfied until their next meal. This was eating the way nature intended it, and sadly, very few of us have forgotten to eat that way, yet a low GI diet is the most natural way of eating!

Nowadays, our modern (and very common) high glycemic diet plays havoc within our bodies – our heavily processed, nutrient depleted foods are digested too quickly causing our blood sugar levels to spike rapidly. To combat this spike in blood sugar, our bodies quickly respond by releasing large amounts of insulin, to lower the high levels of blood sugar. Unfortunately, it does its job too well and rather than lowering the blood sugar to a more desired level, it causes the levels to plummet. This sets up a roller-coaster of extreme high and low levels of blood sugar which, over time,  can send our bodies into a state of insulin resistance. This means our bodies aren’t as sensitive to the insulin as they once were … and so begins the path of weight gain and ill health.

That’s where understanding the Glycemic Index and a low glycemic index diet lifestlye can help us! As we begin to know which foods (and combinations of foods) can keep our blood sugar and insulin levels stable, we can begin to keep our health in check. Decide now to go low gi!

Read more about What Is the Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Index List of Foods.

You may have heard about the Glycemic Index …

but what does it really mean? … and how important is it for your health?
Very simply, the Glycemic Index is a scientific ranking of how the foods we eat affect our blood sugar levels in the 2 or 3 hours after eating. This index is measured against pure glucose, which has a value of 100 on the index.  The index ranges from 0 to 100 with:

0-55  =  Low-GI              56-69  =  Moderate-GI         70-100  =  High-GI

High GI 70-100   Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion, release blood sugar rapidly into the bloodstream, and cause marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
Medium GI 56-69   Carbohydrates that break down moderately during digestion and release blood sugar moderately into the bloodstream.
Low GI 0-55   Carbohydrates that break down slowly during digestion, release blood sugar gradually into the bloodstream, and keep blood sugar levels steady … and provide you with proven benefits for your health!

Low GI Meals leave you feeling fuller longer, ease food cravings and provide you with greater and more sustained energy levels. If you’re looking to either lose weight, or maintain your existing weight, a low GI lifestyle is the perfect option. Also, if you find yourself lethargic, losing concentration, or experiencing mood swings an hour or so after eating, a change to low GI meals may show immediate benefits.

In term of long terms health, Low GI Diets are important to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes or heart disease. However, if you’ve already been diagnosed with diabetes, low GI diets have been shown to improve  both lipid and glucose levels, maintain more stable insulin levels and reduce insulin resistance, which is important in reducing the risk of long term diabetes-related complications.

More and more health benefits associated with choosing a low glycemic index diet are constantly being realised, but the ones we’ve listed are certainly already impressive …

• Control and stabilise your blood sugar levels
• Raise your HDL (“good”) cholesterol
• Lower your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels
• Assist you with weight loss
• Manage symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Improve your body’s sensitivity to insulin
• Lower your risk of type 2 diabetes
• Lower your risk of heart disease
• Improve your energy levels and general wellbeing

So, to get started, just do your best to avoid high GI foods as much as possible … and simply choose medium or low GI foods wherever you can! It becomes very easy once your understand the basics, and it certainly doesn’t mean that you’ll be forever consulting charts and adding up numbers to succeed. Begin simply, by continuing to learn a little about the glycemic index.

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Studies have shown that you’re likely to later crave, and consequently consume, more high glycemic foods thoughout the day which will propel that glycemic rollercoaster, and cause you to actually gain weight!

You’ve got less chance of losing weight by skipping meals than by having a great low GI breakfast to start to the day. You’ll feel better too! Just remember – missing breakfast isn’t good news for weight loss, and even worse news for maintaining optimal health.

So start your day with a healthy low glycemic breakfast to boost your metabolism to give you all the energy you need to get through the morning, and without leaving you feeling hungry again an hour later.

Try some of these simple Low GI Breakfast Ideas for a great start:
•    Unsweetened, natural yoghurt mixed with fresh fruit and muesli.
•    Yoghurt, fruit and nut smoothies
•    Rolled oat porridge cooked with soy or rice milk, mixed with dried fruit & nuts
•    Rye toast with a poached egg, and fresh fruit
•    Whole-wheat pita stuffed with scrambled egg, and fresh fruit
•    All-bran muffin with nut butter spread, and fresh fruit
•    Natural yoghurt with frozen berries, topped with sunflower seeds & nuts
•    Wholegrain toast with salmon & avocado, and fresh fruit
•    Buckwheat pancakes topped with lightly stewed fruit
•    Pumpernickel toast topped with melted low-fat cheese, and fresh fruit
•    Rye toast topped with light cream cheese, and fruit
•    Vegetable omelet, whole-grain toast, and fruit
•    Bircher muesli with yoghurt, fresh fruit, and nuts

Foods to Avoid:
•    Processed, high GI breakfast cereals (that’s most of them!)
•    White and wholemeal breads, croissants, crumpets and pancakes
•    Sugar laden jams, marmalades and spreads
•    Full fat dairy products, such as milk, yoghurts and cheeses
•    Fat laden meats, such as bacon and sausages
•    Store bought, sweetened, processed fruit juices
•    Sugar in tea, coffee, or on cereals

Start your day with lasting energy! You’ll feel great, think more clearly and feel full longer. If you’re just learning about or starting out with a low gi way of life, put every effort into at least ensuring every day starts out with a delicious low gi breakfast.

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Plan ahead … When preparing dinner the night before, cut up a few extra vegetables and set them aside for the next day’s lunch. Invest in a few, well-sealed food containers for any evening meal leftovers, which you can enjoy for lunch over the next couple of days.

Another investment is a small, good quality thermos. If you’ve made a big batch of soup for dinner the previous night, heat it up in the morning, pop it in your thermos, and there’s nothing nicer (or quicker) on a cold winter’s day.

Just a little planning takes the worry out of preparing lunches in the mornings when time is often already tight. It’s also much cheaper and healthier than buying your lunch each day.

Try these great Low GI Lunchtime suggestions:
•    Homemade soups-vegetable, lentil, split pea, minestrone, or barley, with rye toast or a wholegrain roll.
•    Open sandwiches made with lean meats and fresh vegetables on whole-grain wheat, rye, pumpernickel, or pita bread
•    Veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pesto on a wholegrain bun
•    Mixed green salad with grilled chicken and vinaigrette dressing
•    Vegetable quiche, sliced tomatoes and fruit
•    Wholegrain muffin with nut butter and natural yoghurt with fruit
•    Tuna and salad filled wholemeal pita pockets and fresh fruit
•    Boiled egg, mixed vegetable sticks with hommous
•    Baked beans with wholegrain toast and avocado
•    Sushi
•    Falafel in pita bread with salad vegetables
•    Salads made with beans and nuts
•    Warm chicken salad with lots of salad vegetables

Foods to Avoid:
•    White bread or wholemeal sandwiches and rolls
•    Fat laden, pies, pasties, sausage rolls
•    Hot chips
•    Sugary snacks
•    Sugar laden pastries, buns, donuts, cakes
•    Mayonnaise and high-fat dressings
•    Full-fat yoghurts and desserts

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