GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

Snacking to keep your energy up and your BGLs down in an emergency
People in Queensland and Victoria here in Australia have been faced with real emergencies this summer. It has been fantastic to see an organisation like Baked Relief cooking their hearts out to help victims and rescuers alike keep going. When faced with an emergency that isolates us, we need nutrient-dense snacks to keep us going and also to provide us with the sustained energy we need for the extra physical activity these situations often require –you may have to clamber onto the roof to be winched to safety by helicopter. Snacks can be just as important as meals in situations like this. You need foods that will keep safely at room temperature for prolonged periods (so you can store them away) and you can eat with minimum preparation (clean, safe water may be scarce, and you may have no gas or electricity).

Our top 10 snacks: The following list (in alpha order) includes foods from our emergency pantry as well as what you may have on hand to help you get through the long days of isolation (and clamber onto the roof if you have to):

1. Canned fruits (in fruit juice) like apple, apricots, peaches or pears
2. Chocolate
3. Dried fruit like apples, apricot, dates, peaches, pear, or prunes, and 100% dried fruit bars like Sunripe® School Straps
4. Fresh fruit like apples, grapefruit, mandarin, orange or pears
5. Fruit and nut mix
6. Mixed nuts
7. Plain UHT (Long-life) milk Like Dairy Farmers Light White or mixed with Milo®
8. Quality breakfast cereals that can be eaten dry like a natural style muesli (e.g., Morning Sun®)
9. Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds & Oats or Pumpkin Seeds & Oats
10. Uncle Toby’s® Chewy Muesli Bars or Crunchy Muesli Bars
    

For more information about the GI Symbol Program
Dr Alan W Barclay, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Glycemic Index Foundation (Ltd)
Phone: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Mob: +61 (0)416 111 046
Fax: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Email: alan@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com