1 December 2006

GI News—December 2006

[DECEMBER COLLAGE]

In This Issue:

  • Food For Thought
    —Going with the WHOLE grain
    —Why do some wholegrains have a low GI and not others?
  • GI News Briefs
    —Two matters of the heart
    1. Low carb and heart health
    2. Fruit and veg – it’s a numbers game
    —PCOS prevalence
  • Low GI Food of the Month
    —The real deal on chocolate
    —Chilli chocolate black beans
  • Low GI Recipes of the Month
    —Sumac-spiced lamb backstraps with quinoa and roasted grapes
    —GI Express: Poached pears with rich chocolate sauce
    —GI Solo: Sweet chilli tuna salad
  • Success Story
    —Marianne
    —Jason
  • What's New?
    The Spice and Herb Bible
  • Feedback—Your FAQs Answered
    1. Any thoughts on juicing? Many websites seem to indicate that diabetics shouldn't juice because there is no fibre to slow the assimilation of the sugar.
    2. What should the daily glycemic load be held below for someone with diabetes?
    3. With the festive season upon us, do you have some tips for people with diabetes to help us stick to our healthy eating and exercise routines when overindulgence is the order of the day?
    4. I would like to make some low GI bran muffins, but I don't know what type of flour to use.
    5. Do you have any prepared menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
    6. How many carrots does it take?
  • GI Values Update
    —The latest GI values from SUGiRS
    —Where can I get more information on GI testing?
    —Where can I get more information on the GI Symbol Program?
[DECEMBER QUOTE]

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

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for the new issue which I shall read with interest as usual. Still awaiting the rice comparison you promissed a couple of months ago. Any idea when that might be?

Thanks folks.

Anonymous said...

Rice: We are waiting for a new low GI rice to get some space on the supermarket shelves before doing the rice story. It was tested a few months ago and will carry the GI symbol. But it is not yet in supermarkets, so there's no point telling people all about it until they can buy it. Very frustrating. We understand it should be in supermarkets early 2007. So watch this space.

Anonymous said...

3 Questions;

And before that just thanks and congratualtions.

1) on pages 80, 81 there appears to be a calculation error. Dave's salmon should read (4) and not (2), or am I mistaking something?

2) same pages, why 6 veg and 3 fruit and not 5 and 2?

3) is there an easy way to relate the recipies to daily allowances and catagories?

thanks-Don

Anonymous said...

Don, we assume you are referring to the Australian edition of The Low GI Diet and have passed your questions on to the authors.

Anonymous said...

i am writing here because it seems like it takes almost a year to get answers from you by email.... is plain, salted and air popped popcorn low gi?
And if a whole grain is puffed, can those be low gi too?
also, please clarify about tapioca...I am confused if it is low gi or not.

Anonymous said...

The GI website gets hundreds of questions a week and the group answers them as speedily as possible. If you simply have questions about the GI value of your favourite foods, it's a much better idea to go straight to the database (we explain how to use this in the June issue of GI News)and look it up or pick up a copy of The Shopper's Guide to GI Values. The 2007 edition is out now in Australia, NZ and the US. If you can't find the values for a food in either of these places, then it usually means that it hasn't been tested, or it hasn't been tested by the proper scientific method.
Tapioca pudding (tapioca and milk) is high GI (81). Both times plain popcorn was tested (different brands each time) it was cooked in the microwave. In the latest Shopper's Guide it has an average value of 72, making it high GI. But a small 20 gram serving only has around 6 grams of carbohydrate, so the glycemic load is quite low (4). As for puffed wholegrains - it's processing that increases the GI of cereal grains. Puffed and flaked breakfast cereals all tend to be high GI. Check out point 4 on particle size in Food for Thought this month.