If you have Insulin Resistance, Type 2 Diabetes or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, research shows you will benefit from following a low Glycaemic Index Diet. Read below to find out all about the Glycaemic Index & how it can help.
What is the Glycaemic Index (GI)?
The glycemic index or GI ranks carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to their effect on blood glucose (sugar) levels.
- Foods with a High-GI are digested and absorbed quickly causing spikes in blood sugar levels.
- Foods with a Low-GI are digested and absorbed slowly, providing a gradual rise in blood sugar levels.
How Can GI Help?
Choosing Low-GI foods and eating a diet with a lower GI can:
- Reduce blood glucose (sugar) levels and manage diabetes
- Reduce insulin levels and insulin resistance
- Reduce cholesterol and lipids (fats) the blood
- Control appetite and delay hunger
- Help with weight loss & weight control
How To Go Low-GI
- Include at least one low-GI food at each meal and snack (if you eat a carbohydrate food).
- Look for the low-GI symbol
- Swap high-GI for low-GI food choices – See GI table below
|
High GI (70 or more) |
Moderate GI (56-69) |
Low GI
(55 or less) |
|
Breads |
||
| White bread, Bagel, Wonderwhite, Lebanese Bread, Gluten-Free Bread | Pita bread, Hamburger bun, Rye bread, Wholemeal bread, Crumpet | Burgen Soy-Lin, Burgen Fruit Loaf, Burgen Mixed Grain, Multigrain 9-Grain, Vogel’s Honey & Oat, Sourdough bread, Mixed-grain Breads, Mountain Bread, Wholegrain Breads |
|
Cereals |
||
| Sultana Bran, Bran
Flakes, Coco Pops, Puffed Wheat, Rice Bubbles, Cornflakes |
Oatbran, Nutri-grain, Untoasted Muesli,
Just Right, Weet-Bix |
All Bran, Guardian, Sustain, Toasted Muesli, Special K, Porridge, Rice Bran |
|
Rice & Pasta |
||
| Jasmine Rice, Calrose Rice | Brown Rice, Quinoa, Basmati Rice, Doongara Clever Rice, Wholegrain & Pearl CousCous, Semolina, Barley, Pasta, Noodles, Semolina | |
|
Vegetables & Legumes |
||
| Other Potatoes, Parsnip,
French Fries, Broad-Beans |
Sweet potato, Sweet corn, Carisma Potatoes, Lentils, Kidney Beans, Split Peas, Chick Peas, Baked Beans | |
|
Fruits |
||
| Dates, Watermelon | Fresh Apricots, Paw Paw, Pineapple, Raisins, Rockmelon, Sultanas | Apple, Banana, Berries, Cherries, Dried Apricot, Grapefruit, Grapes, Kiwi Fruit, Mandarin, Mango, Orange, Peach, Pear, Plums, Prunes |
|
Biscuits & Snack Foods |
||
| Water Crackers, Saos, Rice Crackers, Rice Cakes, Corn Thins, Milk Coffee Biscuits, Pretzels, Sorbet, Gelato | Ryvita (original), Shredded Wheatmeal, Milk Arrowroot, Popcorn | Arnotts FullÓ’Fruit, Arnotts Snack Right, Ryvita with Pumpkin, Oats & Sunflower, Ryvita Multigrain, Vita Weat 9 Grain, Westons Highland Oatmeal |
|
Dairy & Dairy Alternatives |
||
| Sweetened Condensed Milk, Rice Milk | Ice-cream | Milk, Soy Milk, Custard, Yoghurt, Fruche |
