GI News—August 2010

• Don’t sweat the small stuff when counting carbs
• Should I count up my GI values each day?
• So you think you can dance? So what should you eat?
  
• Do calories on menus help us make better food choices?
• How accurate are calorie and carb counts on labels?
• Low GI diet improves insulin sensitivity in women with PCOS

Most of us have great faith in numbers, especially ones that are boldly printed in black and white on labels and in books. But a number of studies suggest that if you want to count calories (kilojoules) or need to count your carbs, you also need to be aware that the numbers you see printed aren’t precise figures at all. They are just ballpark figures. ‘It’s a fact of life that even the most processed of foods never contain the exact amount of carbohydrate in a serve that the label says while the figures given in food tables will be average or typical not precise amounts. So, don’t get too carried away thinking that by counting every gram of carbohydrate you eat or drink and every 0.05 of a unit of insulin you take your blood glucose levels will be perfect,’ writes Dr Alan Barclay in Food for Thought. ‘It just doesn’t happen like this.’

Good eating, good health and good reading.

Editor: Philippa Sandall
Web management and design: Alan Barclay, PhD