GI News—November 2006

In This Issue:

• Food For Thought
  —The lowdown on reducing the GI of your diet
• GI News Briefs
  —What’s best for baby?
  —Eat to beat acne
  —Acne and hormones
  
• Low GI Food of the Month
  —Fill up not out with low GI lentils
• Low GI Recipes of the Month
  —Poached peaches with vanilla yoghurt and marinated raspberries
  —GI Express: Asparagus and corn omelette
  
• Success Story
  —‘I am so pleased with the results of a low GI diet I want to share my experience.’
• What's New?
  —Shopper’s Guide to GI Values 2007, new editions for the US and ANZ
• Feedback—Your FAQs Answered
  
  1. Is there a way I can change a bad carb like potatoes into a good carb?
     
  2. Should I use the GI or GL when planning meals?
  3. I recently became a diabetic and was given a very brief course in nutrition to help me manage my glucose levels – without much success. Which of your books would help me?
  4. Can I estimate a food’s GI by looking at the ingredient listing or nutrition label?
     
  5. Have you done a study on winter squashes (pumpkins)?
     
• GI Values Update
  —Many of the products in GI Values Update are not available in the USA. Why’s that?
  —The latest GI values from SUGiRS
  

The publishers of the New Glucose Revolution series, Hachette Livre Australia, Hodder Mobius UK and Marlowe & Company New York, have agreed to give away a copy of The Low GI Diet Cookbook to every 1000th subscriber from now on. To subscribe, just click on 'SUBSCRIBE' at the top of the right-hand column. Every 1000th subscriber receives a complimentary copy of The Low GI Diet Cookbook. Books for subscribers 20,000 and 21,000 went to Dubai and Catasauqua, Pennsylvania respectively.

GI News Editor: Philippa Sandall
Web Design and Management: Scott Dickinson

Food for Thought

The lowdown on reducing the GI of your diet
GI critics tend to say that understanding the glycemic index and putting it into practice is too complicated for the average person. It makes you wonder if they’ve ever tried, if they actually know what they are talking about, if they have another agenda, if they are being mischievous or all four? Earlier this year (March GI News) US dietitian Johanna Burani reported the results of a small study of people with diabetes who, simply given the basics, found it well within their grasp to incorporate low GI carbs into their diet to help keep their blood glucose on an even keel. So, this month we share the practical tips our GI Group dietitians give their clients to make the switch to low GI eating. There’s no specific order. Essentially, they suggest that you attack the changes that you think you’ll find easiest first – nothing is quite so inspiring as success. And that you make changes gradually – it can take 6 weeks for a new behaviour to become a habit. Here’s how you can get started.

1. Pile half your dinner plate high with green or salad vegetables. Aim to eat at least five serves of vegetables (this doesn’t include starchy the ones like potato and sweet potato) every day, preferably of three or more colours.
   
   
2. If you are a big potato eater and can’t bear the thought of giving them up, you don’t have to. Just cut back on the quantity (right back). Either have one or two tiny chat potatoes with a small cob of corn or make a cannellini bean (they are white beans) and potato mash replacing half the potato with cannellini beans. And try other starchy vegetables occasionally like sweet potato, yams or taro – steamed, roasted or mashed.
   
   
3. Swap your bread. Instead of high GI packaged white and wholemeal breads, choose a really grainy bread where you can actually see the grains, granary bread, stone-ground wholemeal bread, real sourdough bread, soy and linseed bread, pumpernickel, fruit loaf or bread made from chickpea or other legume based flours.
   
   
4. Replace those high GI crunchy breakfast flakes that spike your blood glucose and insulin levels with smart carbs like natural muesli or traditional (not instant) porridge oats or one of the lower GI processed breakfast cereals that will trickle fuel into your engine.
   
   
5. Make your starchy staples the low GI ones. Look for the lower GI rices, serve your pasta al dente, choose less processed foods such as large flake or rolled oats for porridge or muesli and intact grains such as barley, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa, whole kernel rye, or whole wheat kernels and opt for lower GI starchy vegetables.
   
   
6. Learn to love legumes – home-cooked or canned. Add chickpeas to a stir-fry, red kidney beans to a chilli, a 4-bean salad to that barbecue menu, and beans or lentils to a casserole or soup.
   
   
7. Develop the easy art of combining. No need to cut out all high GI carbs. The trick is to combine them with those low GI tricklers to achieve a moderate overall GI. How? Lentils with rice (think of the classic Italian soup), rice with beans and chilli (go Mexican), tabbouli tucked into pita bread (with felafel of course and a dash of hummous), baked beans on toast or piled on a jacket-baked potato for classic comfort food.
   
   
8. Incorporate a lean protein source with every meal – lean meat, skinless chicken, eggs, fish and seafood, or legumes and tofu if you are vegetarian. Your protein portion should make up around a quarter of your dinner plate.
   
   
9. Tickle those tastebuds – try vinaigrette (using vinegar or lemon juice) with salads, yoghurt with cereal, lemon juice on vegetables like asparagus, sourdough bread. These foods contain acids, which slow stomach emptying and lower your blood glucose response to the carbs in the meal.
   
   
10. Go low when snacking – low GI that is. Grab fresh fruit, dried fruit and nut mix, low fat milk and yoghurt (or soy alternatives), fruit bread etc. Limit (this means don’t buy them every week) high GI refined flour products whether home baked or from the supermarket such as cookies, cakes, pastries, crumpets, crackers, biscuits, irrespective of their fat and sugar content. These really are the ‘keep for the occasional treat’ foods.

And remember portion caution with carb-rich foods such as rice, al dente pasta and noodles, potatoes etc. Eating a huge amount of these foods, even of the low GI ones, will have a marked effect on your blood glucose. A cup of cooked noodles or al dente pasta or rice plus plenty of mixed vegetables and a little lean protein can turn into 3 cups of a very satisfying meal.

It’s really not hard. Be encouraged. Many people who write to us after making the switch to a low GI diet tell us how easy and enjoyable they find it. They love the fact that meals have gotten a whole lot more interesting because they are eating a wider variety of food and they are over the moon about having more energy, keeping their blood glucose on an even keel and feeling well. Our ‘success story’ this month is a great example.

GI News Briefs

What’s best for baby?
Being born big is not better when it comes to babies. We now know from a number of studies that a baby’s birth weight can set the pattern for life, predicting long-term risk of obesity and chronic disease. A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that the GI of the mother’s diet during pregnancy may be another important key to producing a healthy weight baby who will grow up to be a healthy child and adult. The study compared the effects of two diets on 62 healthy pregnant women. The overall quality of both the diets was good, with food and nutritional intakes in line with recommendations for pregnant women. Lead researcher Dr Robert Moses writes that the babies of the mothers eating the low GI diet were of normal size, but were smaller and had less body fat than the babies of the mothers eating the moderate–high GI ‘high fibre-low sugar’ diet during the pregnancy. Interestingly, the women in the low GI group were more likely to report that they found the diet easy to follow than the women in the high fibre-low sugar group. One of the researchers, Prof Jennie Brand-Miller, told GI News that: ‘I think the most important take home message from the pregnancy study is that the GI appears to have a more important effect on birth weight than any single dietary factor, including amount of protein, fat or amount or carbohydrate.’
– AJCN 2006;84:807–12



Eat to beat acne
A diet rich in lean protein and low GI carbs can improve acne by 50 per cent in 12 weeks or less according to researchers from Australia’s RMIT University. These results are similar to that seen in published trials with successful topical therapies. The group presented their findings at the European dermatology conference in Greece in September. The detailed article describing the study methods and results is currently being peer reviewed and will be published in a scientific journal in 2007.

For the 12-week trial, 43 teenage boys with moderate to severe acne were randomly assigned either to a low GL (45% carbohydrate and 25% protein) diet including low GI carbs and lean protein or the control diet including carb staples with a moderate to high GI. Each boy was given an individualised dietary plan along with some training in using food scales and keeping food records. Low level acne skin wash was standardised for all the boys and their acne was assessed every four weeks by an expert dermatologist who did not know the dietary group of the subjects. According to lead researcher Dr Neil Mann, ‘the acne of the boys on the higher protein-low GI diet improved by more than half. This diet reined in the high insulin levels that could be responsible for acne. When you go through puberty you produce a lot of growth hormone that actually makes you temporarily insulin resistant. In conjunction with a high glycemic load diet common in western societies this causes chronically high insulin levels. With such high levels of insulin you're going to get blockages in the pores and extra oil building up under the skin. A diet high in processed foods pushes glucose and insulin levels higher, exacerbating the problem, but low GI foods do the opposite. Low GI carbohydrates and lean protein-rich foods help to reduce insulin levels that affect the hormones associated with acne.’


Macronutrient composition of the low GL diet

What hormone's that?
Acne is formed when the sebaceous gland (oil gland) produces extra sebum (oil). At the same time the gland becomes blocked due to cells lining the follicle duct expanding under the action of insulin related growth factors such as IGF-1. This causes a build-up of sebum within the gland which gets bigger. As a result bacteria grow within the gland and eventually bursts causing inflammation and redness. The main hormones that play a role are:

• Androgens (male hormones)
  When the levels of active androgens increase it causes more oil to be produced within the gland.
• Insulin-like growth factor -1 (growth hormone)
  When IGF-1 becomes more active, it causes the gland to become blocked.

For more information contact: neil.mann@rmit.edu.au

Low GI Food of the Month

Fill up not out with low GI lentils
If you have diabetes, lentils are one food you should learn to love – you can eat them until the cows come home. In fact, our dietitians report that no matter how much of them you eat, they have only a small effect on your blood glucose levels. But lentils are ideal for everybody, not just people with diabetes. Rich in protein, high in fibre and packed with nutrients like B vitamins, folate and minerals, this little nutritional giant fills you up – not out. They are also gluten free, easy to prepare (no soaking), quick cooking (15–20 minutes) and inexpensive (so great for feeding the family). All colours and types of dried lentils have a similar low GI value. Although opting for handy canned convenience increases the GI somewhat, lentils are still a very smart carb choice.

• GI 26 (red, home cooked)
• GI 30 (green, home cooked)
• GI 52 (green, canned)

photo: Ian Hofstetter

Low GI eating made easy with canned or home-cooked lentils

• Up the nutritional ante and thicken sauces and salsas with pureed lentils. If it’s a new taste sensation for your family, add just a little for starters until their palates adjust to the slightly earthier flavour.
  
  
• Transform a simple tomato soup into something substantial by adding a cup or two of lentils – whole or pureed if it’s a creamy style soup.
  
  
• Extend a stew or casserole with a cup or two of lentils. Great to help the leftovers feed the whole family.
  
  
• Whip up a salad in seconds with lentils, tuna, chopped red capsicum and finely chopped red onion, tossed in an oil and red wine vinegar dressing.
  
  
• Toss buckwheat noodles with lentils and blanched broccoli in a dressing of olive oil and white wine vinegar mixed with a little crushed garlic and finely grated ginger.
  
  
• Mad about mash? For an easy (and lower GI) alternative to mashed potato, bring to the boil 250 ml of reduced salt chicken or vegetable stock, 2/3 cup of split red lentils and 1 bay leaf, then simmer until the lentils are mushy and thick. Season with freshly ground black pepper and your favourite herbs or spices.
  
  
• Feel like a burger? Process a 14 oz (400 g) can of drained lentils in the food processor for a second or so until they look like coarse breadcrumbs. Soften a chopped onion, a clove of garlic crushed and a grated carrot in olive oil for a few minutes in a frying pan. In a bowl thoroughly combine the lentil ‘crumbs’ with 1/3 cup (40 g) sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup (50 g) rolled oats and ½ cup (40 g) wholegrain breadcrumbs and a dash of chilli or soy sauce (or both). Form into 4 patties, chill in the refrigerator for an or so until firm, then and cook 3–4 minutes a side on the barbecue or in a pan.

Still short on ideas for what to do with beans, chickpeas and lentils?
For starters you may like to take a look at a copy of The Pea and Lentil Cookbook - From Everyday to Gourmet from the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council. It has around 150 recipes (we'll give you a taste in the coming months), many of them photographed plus a nutritional analysis for each (not GI though). It's fun to read just for the tips on every page. You can order a copy from their website (www.pea-lentil.com) or email them for more information (pulse@pea-lentil.com).

Another source of ideas is the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers' Discover the Pulse Potential. There are around 100 recipes from appetisers and salads to soups and desserts each with a nutrient analysis (but not a GI rating). We’ll give you a taste over the next year (with a GI rating). It addresses special dietary concerns such as diabetes and celiac disease and provides information on pulse varieties and how to cook them. You can order a copy from www.amazon.ca or contact Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, 104–411 Downey Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N 4L8 Canada
Email: pulse@saskpulse.com



Some websites to check out for more information on legumes (pulses):
http://www.pea-lentil.com
www.pulsecanada.com
www.passionforpulses.com

Low GI Recipes of the Month

The recipes this month come from The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook. The book is available in Australia now and will be published (the publishers say) in the US and UK in November and December respectively.

Poached Peaches with Vanilla Yoghurt and Marinated Raspberries
Serves 4
Preparation time 5 minutes; Cooking time 10 minutes; Chilling time 2 hours


photo: Ian Hofstetter

2 cups (500 ml/17 fl oz) white wine (or water if you prefer)
1 vanilla bean, split
½ cup (110 g/4 oz) caster sugar
4 large, ripe freestone peaches (or nectarines)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon caster sugar, extra
120 g (4½ oz) fresh raspberries
low fat vanilla yoghurt, to serve (optional)

1. Place the wine, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan with 2 cups (500 ml/17 fl oz) water and cook stirring, over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves (about 5 minutes.)
2. Add the peaches and poach for a further 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, peel away their skins and set aside to cool to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator to chill.
3. Meanwhile, simmer the syrup until reduced by half. Strain into a bowl and allow to cool before placing in the refrigerator to chill.
4. Place orange juice, lime juice and extra sugar in a medium-sized bowl, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the raspberries and toss to coat in the juice.
5. Serve the chilled peaches with the marinated raspberries and drizzle with the chilled syrup. Accompany with a dollop of yoghurt.

Nutrition analysis per serving
Energy 1304 kJ/313 Cal; fat 0 g (saturated 0 g); fibre 5 g; protein 4 g; carbohydrate 52 g; low GI


GI Express : Asparagus and corn omelette
Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 10 minutes


photo: Ian Hofstetter

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) pieces
½ cup (100 g/3½ oz) fresh corn kernels
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
2 slices grainy low GI bread, toasted
¼ small avocado

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a small non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the asparagus and corn. Cook for 2–3 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Remove from heat. Stir in the parsley. Season well with pepper.
2. Use a fork to whisk the eggs with 2 tablespoons of water. Heat 1 teaspoon of the remaining oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Pour in half of the egg mixture and cook for 3 minutes or until almost set, using a fork to pull the cooked egg away from the edges and allow the uncooked egg to run to the edges.
3. Sprinkle half the asparagus and corn mixture and half the Parmesan over half of the omelette, and fold over to enclose. Lift out carefully and set aside.
4. Repeat with the remaining egg mixture and filling. Spread each piece of toast with avocado, and serve with the omelette.

If you have two small frying pans, you can cook both omelettes at the same time.

Nutrition analysis per serving
Energy 1867 kJ/446 Cal; fat 29 g (saturated 7 g); fibre 4 g; protein 22 g; carbohydrate 24 g; low GI

Your Success Stories

‘I am so pleased with the results of a low GI diet I want to share my experience’ – Robert
You may think I am being premature in writing like this but I am writing to say thank you for the existence of the low GI diet and all the researchers and others who have made it accessible through the books you publish and the database you provide.



I had been unwell for some time and in the week of 27th June I was hit by what I call a ‘metabolic storm.’ I was admitted to hospital with a BGL in excess of 33.3 mg/L and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, although I was on an insulin drip followed by insulin injections for most of my hospital stay. While I was in hospital my wife obtained The New Glucose Revolution and The Low GI Diet Cookbook, which I read avidly.

When I left hospital I was on Gliclazide plus the usual dietary control. My endocrinologist suggested that given this was likely to have been a long-term problem BGL in the range 6–10 would be a good range for me. I accessed your website, signed up for the newsletter and browsed the database. The two books became my food bibles and I followed the suggested regime ruthlessly. Within two weeks I was in trouble with my BGL being driven too low, I got down to a BGL of 3.1 and frankly anything below about 5 did and does tend to give me a bad case of the shakes. So, Gliclazide was stopped and from then on I have relied entirely on dietary control. My endocrinologist says I only really need to check my BGL several times a week or if I suspect there is a problem, but part of my regime is consistency, meals at a regular time, plan ahead, check what is happening. Following is some data to illustrate the results:


Click to enlarge

I firmly believe this has been achieved by the resources that you provide, and that I would not be where I am today without them.

Send Us Your Success Story!


We'll send you a free copy of The Low GI Diet Cookbook if your story is published.

Books, DVDs, Websites: What’s New?

US and ANZ editions of The Shopper’s Guide to GI Values 2007 now available
Prof. Jennie Brand-Miller and Kaye Foster-Powell with Fiona Atkinson



Check out the latest GI values for your favourite foods in this annual handy pocket guide. Includes:

• The GI values for hundreds of foods
• The values listed in A-Z tables by food category
• A low, medium or high 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

Available in Australia and New Zealand (Hachette Livre Australia) November 2006 and in the US (Marlowe & Company) December 2006.

Back in stock: Peter’s Howard’s Delicious Living
New Holland Publishers AUD$19.95

We reviewed this title back in June, but a number of readers have reported that they found it hard to get a copy. The good news is that it is now back in stock in book stores Australia wide. The book of 60 plus recipes was written to help people manage their diabetes and enjoy good food at the same time. It is endorsed by Diabetes Australia.

Feedback—Your FAQs Answered

Is there any way I can change a bad carb like potatoes into a good carb? Or mellow a bad carb’s effects?
We tend not to talk good carbs bad carbs. We think it is more a question of balance. While you’ll benefit from eating healthy low GI carbs at each meal or for snacks, this doesn’t have to be at the exclusion of all others. High GI, carb-rich foods such as potatoes, wholemeal bread and brown rice make a valuable nutritional contribution to your diet. And when you combine them in a meal with low GI carbs such as lentils or beans or protein foods such as a piece of steak or fillet of fish, the overall GI value of the meal will probably be medium. See our tips for reducing the GI of your diet in Food for Thought this month. And if you love potatoes as so many people do, start by cutting back on the quantity. Either have one or two tiny chat potatoes with a small cob of corn, or make a cannellini bean and potato mash replacing half the potato with cannellini beans, or enjoy a small portion of potato salad with a vinaigrette dressing.



Should I use the GI or GL when planning meals?
We are often asked this. We recommend you use the GI, rather than GL, to identify your best carbohydrate choices. Emphasis on GL (ie GI x the amount of carbohydrate in the food) could easily lead to an unhealthy diet based on too few carbs. Some health professionals have unwittingly recommended the use of GL in place of GI on the basis that GL gives the best impression of a food’s overall effect on blood glucose levels. A few foods, for example, have a high GI but a normal serving of the food has a low GL (eg watermelon). That might well be true but it’s not a good reason to concentrate exclusively on the GL. Here’s why.

Carbohydrates with a low GI have a lot more going for them than simply keeping blood glucose levels on an even keel. Slow carbs, as we call them, are digested and absorbed slowly throughout the length of the small intestine. This makes them more likely to be filling and to stimulate the brain-gut peptides that spell ‘satiety’. Low GI carbs are also far more likely to be healthy foods such as legumes, fruits and dairy products that make a positive contribution to health in many ways (not just lowering blood glucose levels).



If you concentrate on foods/meals with a low GL, you could well end up eating a diet that is too low in carbs and too high in saturated fat. Fatty meats like salami and bacon and cheese after all have a low GL. Although the GL concept is useful in scientific research, it’s the GI that’s proven to be most helpful to people day-to-day, say our dietitians. If you choose healthy low GI foods – at least one at each meal – chances are you’re eating a diet that not only keeps blood glucose within the healthy range, but contains balanced amounts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

I recently became a diabetic and was given a very brief course in nutrition to help me manage my glucose levels – without much success. Which of your books would help me?
Many people with diabetes struggle to keep their blood glucose on an even keel and lose weight – and not just when they are first diagnosed. It’s ongoing. That’s why it’s really important to see a registered dietitian who specialises in helping people with diabetes. It can really make a real difference long term. Your family doctor should be able to recommend one. As for books, we usually suggest Low GI Eating Made Easy for starters. It’s very practical and an easy read. It covers making the change to low GI eating in easy steps and lists the top 100 low GI foods and ways to include them in your diet. There’s also a week of low GI eating – breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert ideas and the GI tables. If you want a bit more of the science behind the GI, check out The New Glucose Revolution Low GI Guide to Diabetes. You can get these books from Amazon and major booksellers.

Can I estimate a food’s GI by looking at the ingredient listing or nutrition label?
We are often asked this question. And the simple answer is that you can’t ‘work it out’. A packaged food’s Nutrition Facts panel will tell you the carbohydrate content, but it won’t indicate the GI of that food. If it contains at least 10 grams of carbohydrates per serving, you can be sure it will have at least some effect on your blood glucose concentration – but there’s no way of telling whether it will be a little or a lot. Similarly, you can’t estimate the GI of a food by looking at its ingredient list, because it won’t tell you the final state of the starches in the food – which ultimately determine GI value.




However, you can make some generalisations about the GI of different foods that you can keep in mind when shopping. Legumes, for example, have some of the lowest GI values whether you buy them dried or canned, it doesn’t matter about the brand. Most pasta and noodle products tend to be low GI foods too as are most fresh fruits and dairy foods like milk, yogurt, ice cream, and custards. In contrast, most bread, bakery products, rice and breakfast cereals are high GI, although those that are less processed may be lower GI. Protein-rich foods—cheese, meat, eggs, and poultry – don’t have measurable GI values, because they contain little if any carbohydrates. The same is true for salad vegetables. Check out the database at www.glycemicindex.com for the most comprehensive list of GI values available. If you want something portable, you might like to pick up The New Glucose Revolution Shopper’s Guide to GI Values. It is updated each year, so look for the 2007 edition which should be published around November/December. And hound the manufacturers of your favourite foods to have them glycemic index tested ‘in vivo’ (that means what happens in real people not in a glass test tube) following the standard international procedure.

Have you done a GI study on winter squashes (pumpkins) such as hubbard, acorn, butternut etc?
There’s only been one published result for winter squash (it is listed as pumpkin) and it had a high GI (75). The actual variety tested isn’t given. But a typical serving of say 80 grams cooked winter squash is only going to have around 5–6 grams of carbohydrate, so the glycemic load will be quite low. That’s why we classify these healthy vegetables like winter squash and swedes etc. as ‘everyday caution with portion foods’ as we want people to eat plenty of vegetables (at least five servings a day) on a low GI diet. It’s only the starchy, carb-rich potato with a high GI that we suggest people cut back on.

GI Values Update

Many of the products in GI Values Update are not available in the USA. Why’s that?
The answer is pretty simple. Very few US companies are GI testing their products, and those that are don’t always release the results for publication. Where do the values we publish in GI News come from? We publish the GI values of foods that have been tested by a lab that provides a legitimate GI testing service following the standardised in vivo procedure – and currently there are only a few centres around the world that do this. We also need the manufacturer to give us permission to publish the results. And they don’t always do this. We really do understand how frustrating it is not to be able to find the GI of your favourite foods. We always urge people to hound manufacturers to get their foods GI tested. But we also know that’s much easier said than done, especially when you use the ‘HOW TO CONTACT US’ page on that corporate website. Following a recent press release that was published internationally, we asked Kraft in the US for a few more details about a new ‘healthy’ range of snacks and cereals that they are promoting. We filled in all the ‘compulsory (asterisked) fields, so they probably now know more about us than we do about their products.



GI Group: ‘Have you glycemic index tested your ‘Back to Nature’ granolas, cereals, cookies and crackers? Are any low GI? Are any gluten free? If not do you plan to GI test these products in future?’

Kraft: ‘Thank you for visiting www.kraft.com/responsibility. Unfortunately, we don't have that information available at this time. If you haven't done so already, please add our site to your favorites and visit us again soon!’

Don’t despair. Keep hounding and together we will make a difference. It just may take a bit of time. And please tell us about products you know have been GI tested by an accredited laboratory. The takehome message: Enjoy plenty of the foods that are naturally low GI (legumes/pulses, fruit and vegetables, pasta and noodles, reduced fat dairy foods). To find out more about them, you might like to check out a copy of Low GI Eating Made Easy which has a whole section on the top 100 low GI foods you can tuck into without worrying about brands.

The latest GI values from SUGiRS


Fiona Atkinson

These super tasty breakfast cereals now on the shelves in Australian supermarkets had to be kept under lock and key during GI testing reports Fiona Atkinson from the SUGiRS team.

Vogel's Café Style Fibre-Rich Muesli GI 48
Vogel's Cluster Crunch Classic GI 50
Vogel's Cluster Crunch Honey Hazelnut GI 43
Wild Oats Cluster Crunch Hazelnut Chocolate GI 43

• For nutrition and product information from the manufacturer, check out www.vogels.com.au for the Vogels products and www.specialtycereals.com.au for the Wild Oats product.
  
  
• For information on nominal serve sizes, available carbohydrate and glycemic load, check out the GI database at www.glycemicindex.com

GI Symbol Program News
Australian health bread specialist, Country Life Bakery has created a low GI gluten-free loaf. This ground-breaking product will be welcomed by all those in Australia who need to eat a gluten-free diet and keep their blood glucose on an even keel.



Country Life Low GI Gluten-free Bread GI 40

• For nutrition and product information, check out www.countrylife.com.au

And four more delicious breads from Goodman Fielder carry the GI symbol
Vogel’s Rye with Sunflower GI 47
Vogel’s Soy + Linseed with Oats GI 49
Vogel’s Seven Seed GI 50
Vogel’s Original Mixed Grain GI 54

What does the GI symbol mean?
The GI symbol on a food is a guarantee that the stated GI value is reliable and that the food is a healthy choice in its food group. To earn certification, foods that carry the symbol must be a good source of carbohydrate and meet a host of other nutrient criteria including kilojoules (calories), total and saturated fat, sodium (salt), and where appropriate, dietary fibre and calcium. The GI Symbol Program is a public health initiative run by Glycemic Index Limited, a non-profit company whose members are the University of Sydney, Diabetes Australia and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Where can I get more information on the GI symbol program?



Alan Barclay
Acting CEO, Glycemic Index Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9785 1037
Fax: +61 2 9785 1037
Email: awbarclay@optusnet.com.au
Web www.gisymbol.com.au

Where can I get more information on GI testing?

North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
36 Lombard Street, Suite 100
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2X3 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web www.gilabs.com

Australia
Fiona Atkinson
Research Manager, Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS)
Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences
Sydney University
NSW 2006 Australia
Phone + 61 2 9351 6018
Fax: + 61 2 9351 6022
Email sugirs@mmb.usyd.edu.au
Web www.glycemicindex.com

New Zealand
Dr Tracy Perry
The Glycemic Research Group, Dept of Human Nutrition
University of Otago
PO Box 56 Dunedin New Zealand
Phone +64 3 479 7508
Email tracy.perry@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Web glycemicindex.otago.ac.nz

Making the Most of GI News

Your questions answered
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Translating GI News and www.glycemicindex.com
If you would prefer to read GI News or a page from glycemicindex in a language other than English, there is a very easy way to translate them (or any site for that matter), using a service provided by Altavista called ‘Babel Fish’. Simply head over to babelfish.altavista.com and copy and paste a block of text into the first window (up to 150 words), or enter the website address to translate an entire page into the ‘Translate a Web Page’ box. Next, select which language you would like the English text translated to from the drop-down menu. Click the Translate button and Babel Fish will do all the work for you in just a few seconds.


Babelfish homepage

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