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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GI News endeavours to check the veracity of news stories cited in this free e-newsletter by referring to the primary source, but cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies in the articles so published. GI News provides links to other World Wide Web sites as a convenience to users, but cannot be held responsible for the content or availability of these sites. This document may be copied and distributed provided the source is cited as GI News and the information so distributed is not used for profit.

© ® & ™ The University of Sydney, Australia

GI News—October 2006

In This Issue:

• Food for Thought
  —Something to chew on
  
• GI News Briefs
  —What women athletes need
  —More low fat dairy food, less type 2 diabetes
  —High blood glucose increases coronary artery disease risk
  —Giving children a healthy life
  —Why a low GI diet can help women with PCOS
  
• Low GI Food of the Month
  —Green peas
  
• Low GI Recipe of the Month
  —Gluten-free Apricot Nut Slice
  
• Success Stories
  —‘It is nothing short of a miracle’ – Rose
  
• What's New?
  —Healthy Parent, Healthy Child
  
• Feedback—Your FAQs Answered
  
  1. I have gestational diabetes. What should I choose from the menu at my local Asian restaurant to stick to my daily food guide for carb serves?
     
  2. I love to bake, but want to reduce the GI of the products? Can you answer some questions about this?
     
  3. I have recently been diagnosed with irritable bowel disease and am interested to know if following a low GI diet would be recommended to help control my symptoms.
  4. Look it up in our A–Z: The GI Glossary completed
     

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.



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

Food for Thought

Something to chew on
Periodontitis is a leading cause of tooth loss in adults – around 30% have it. It’s a serious infection that destroys the soft bone and tissue that support your teeth but it is both treatable and preventable. It’s long been known that daily brushing and flossing and regular professional cleaning can greatly reduce chances of developing gum disease. Findings from the first study to look at wholegrain intake in conjunction with periodontitis risk (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006;83:1395-400) suggest that eating at least 4 servings of wholegrains a day may reduce the likelihood of periodontitis in healthy people possibly by improving their insulin sensitivity suggest the authors. And although it’s still early days, the news is encouraging.

In a prospective study, researchers from McMaster University in Canada tracked more than 34,000 healthy men (those with diabetes, heart disease or a history of stroke were excluded) aged 40–75 years at the start of the study over 14 years. The men eating the most wholegrain foods (around 3 or more servings a day) including brown rice, dark breads, oats, whole grain breakfast cereals, popcorn, wheatgerm, bran and other grains were 23 per cent less likely to develop periodontitis than those who ate less than one serving a day. Although they also found that the men who ate the most cereal fibre were less likely to develop gum disease, they found no link between total dietary fibre and periodontitis risk.

As we have said before, there are countless reasons to include more whole cereal grains in your diet, but it’s hard to go past the fact that you are getting all the benefits of their vitamins, minerals, protein, dietary fibre and protective anti-oxidants. Many wholegrain foods (but not all) also have a low or moderate GI slowing the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates from the gut, keeping blood glucose levels on an even keel. There are a number of studies that show that managing blood glucose levels reduces the risk of periodontitis in people with diabetes, so it may well be that lower blood glucose levels will reduce the risk of periodontitis in non-diabetics.

Take steps to prevent gum disease

• Brush your teeth twice a day and floss once a day.
• Visit your dentist every six months for a check up and clean to remove the build-up of tartar from areas your brush can’t reach.
• Eat a healthy diet including plenty of low GI wholegrains – at least 4 servings a day.
• If you have diabetes, manage your blood glucose levels.
• Do not smoke – people who smoke are four times more likely to develop gum disease than people who don’t.
  

GI News Briefs

What women athletes need
Whether you are a serious endurance athlete or exercising seriously to lose body fat, the results of a study from researchers at Nottingham and Loughborough Universities show that being choosy about your carbs before training or events can help maximise fat oxidation (burning). In a study involving 8 healthy, active, young women Dr Emma Stevenson reports that ‘altering the GI of a mixed meal eaten 3 hours before exercising significantly changed the post prandial hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic (see below) responses in the women’. In 2 separate trials the women were given a high GI breakfast (GI 78) or a low GI breakfast (GI 44) 3 hours before a 60-minute run at 65% VO2max on a motorised treadmill. Both breakfasts provided 2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight.

The women had a higher rate of fat oxidation during exercise after the low GI breakfast than after the high GI one reports Stevenson. This is because large glycemic and insulinemic responses to a high GI meal lead to increased carbohydrate oxidation and a reduction in the mobilisation and oxidation of free fatty acids. Increasing fat oxidation during exercise is what you need to do to lose body fat. Stevenson and her co-authors make the point that further research needs to look at exercise at different intensities and of shorter duration and also in older women and oral contraceptive users.
– American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006;84:354–60



More low fat dairy food, less type 2 diabetes
Older women who eat plenty of low fat dairy foods could reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes reports a new study from Harvard in July Diabetes Care. The researchers looked at the associations between dairy food and calcium intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes in 37,183 women without a history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer at the start of the study. ‘Each serving-per-day increase in dairy intake was associated with a 4% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, says Liu. While acknowledging that dairy food’s lower GI may contribute to the reduced risk, the researchers conclude: ‘our results show independent associations after adjusting for glycemic load. These data are consistent with the possibility that milk seems to influence glucose tolerance more through its insulinotropic effect (stimulating the release of insulin) than its relatively lower glycemic load.’
– Diabetes Care, 29(7), July 2006



High blood glucose increases coronary artery disease risk
Diabetes is well recognised as a major risk factor for heart disease. Impaired fasting glucose is increasingly common (affecting some 35 million Americans), so the next big question is at what point does elevated blood glucose (often associated with impaired glucose tolerance) in the absence of diabetes become a risk factor? In a retrospective study published in Diabetes Care using the records of 24,160 non-diabetic patients (mostly men) from US Veterans Affairs medical centers, Dr Christopher Nielson and his co-researchers looked for associations between morning glucose and subsequent incidents of heart attack and angina etc. They found that elevated fasting glucose greater than 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) was associated with a greater incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) independent of typical risk factors such as age, weight, blood pressure etc. This retrospective study both extends the previous descriptions of the association between glucose and CAD and suggests that the commonly used morning glucose test can provide a useful indication of CAD risk.
– Diabetes Care, 29(5), May 2006



Giving children a healthy life
‘Best estimates are that a white child born in the United States in the year 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of developing diabetes in his/her lifetime, and a 1 in 2 chance if he she is black or Hispanic’ writes Dr Patrick Hughes and co-authors in the Wisconsin Medical Journal in the introduction to their Wasau SCHOOL Project study. Designed to measure the prevalence and magnitude of known risk factors for heart disease and diabetes in school-age children in Wausau, Wisconsin, the SCHOOL Project was small cross-sectional study of a representative sample of students in grades 2, 5, 8 and 11. Here’s what they found: ‘Of the children studied, 39% had at least 1 lipid (blood cholesterol) abnormality and 22% had 2 or more. Abnormal blood pressure, overweight and cigarette smoking were present in 29%, 16% and 11% respectively. While elevated fasting glucose levels were uncommon, insulin resistance was noted in 25% of the sampled population and nearly 50% of sampled children with a BMI greater than the 85th percentile in the survey … Multiple risk factors rose dramatically with age. By 11th grade, 38% of those surveyed had 2 or more risk factors and 23% had 3 or more.



The authors conclude: ‘Primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease must begin in childhood. At an early age, children will find it easier to learn and adopt healthier lifestyles if the encouragement they receive from parents, teachers and society is reinforced by example and actions.’ Here are some of the healthier lifestyle changes that they suggest. ‘Daily physical education classes at all grade levels, an emphasis on life sports, promotion of nutritious foods in schools and restaurants, freedom from environmental tobacco exposure in public places throughout the community, and widespread, actively promoted, year-round opportunities for physical activity regardless of socioeconomic status.’
– Wisconsin Medical Journal 2006, 105(3)

Why a low GI diet can help women with PCOS
In September, accredited practising dietitian and diabetes educator Kate Marsh addressed the annual polycystic ovarian syndrome conference in Sydney on how diet can help women manage the symptoms of PCOS. The conference was organised by the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association of Australia Inc – www.posaa.asn.au


Kate Marsh

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal (endocrine) disorder that affects 5–10% of women. Symptoms include irregular or absent periods, infertility or reduced fertility, hirsutism (excess hair growth on the face, chest and abdomen), alopecia (scalp hair loss), acne, obesity and difficulty losing weight and increased risk of miscarriage. Many women also complain of excessive tiredness and fatigue, hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), and poor memory and concentration. We don’t know why PCOS develops, but we do know that there are a number of different causes and that for many women it’s high levels of insulin in the blood resulting from insulin resistance. Having insulin resistance means the body is insensitive to insulin and because the insulin isn’t working effectively, the pancreas pumps out more and more to keep blood glucose levels under control. It’s these high levels of insulin circulating in the bloodstream that cause many health problems including PCOS.

Here’s why. High levels of insulin act on the ovaries to cause increased production of male hormones, which disrupt the normal ovulation cycle and cause many of the symptoms of PCOS. The link between these two conditions also means that women with PCOS are at an increased risk of developing health problems including impaired glucose tolerance (the stage before diabetes), gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy), type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The good news is that treating insulin resistance significantly improves all or most of the symptoms because it reduces androgen (male hormone) levels and restores ovulation.

Here’s how. You can improve insulin resistance with lifestyle changes such as a healthy eating plan, exercise and weight loss. You may also need medication, but is only effective if used in combination with lifestyle changes. Making these lifestyle changes has restored ovulation in women with PCOS, even with weight losses of as little as 5% of body weight. There are other benefits too. Eating well helps regulate your blood glucose levels, improve your energy levels and reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The best type of healthy eating plan is low in saturated fat and high in fibre and includes low GI carbs. Low GI foods are more filling and satisfying, which helps to control hunger and assists with weight loss. They result in lower levels of insulin circulating in the bloodstream, which means fat is less easily stored by the body and is more easily burnt. Lower insulin levels also mean that less male hormones are produced, which can improve many of the symptoms of PCOS, help to reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease and improve blood fat levels. Spreading your food intake evenly across the day is important too, as this helps prevent spikes in your blood glucose and insulin levels.

But, the most important thing with any eating plan you choose, is that you can actually stick to it long term – short term quick fix weight-loss diets are doomed for failure. If you have PCOS and need help with your diet, make an appointment to see an accredited practising (registered) dietitian who specialises in this area to develop an eating plan to suit your needs.

Diet alone is not enough. You need to combine your healthy eating plan with some regular exercise – at least 30 minutes of activity on most days. It is best to include a combination of both aerobic exercise (walking, running, dancing) and resistance training (weights) – a number of studies have now shown the benefits of lifting weights for improving blood glucose and insulin levels.

– Kate Marsh BSc, M Nutrition Dietetics, Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Eduction & Management

GI Group: To find out more about the PCOS and low GI diets, check out The Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS by Prof. Nadir Farid, Prof. Jennie Brand-Miller and Kate Marsh. This should be available in all good bookshops in Australia, NZ, the US and the UK or from Amazon.

Low GI Food of the Month

Green Peas

I eat my peas with honey
I’ve done it all my life’
It makes the peas taste funny
But it keeps ’em on the knife.
– Anon

There’s nothing like the aroma of shelling and eating fresh, green peas (GI 48) straight from the pod. Today, most of us buy them in frozen packs – the manufacturer has done the hard work. They are rich in fibre and vitamin C and higher in protein than most vegetables.



Although a good source of thiamin, niacin, phosphorus and iron when fresh, cooking will reduce the nutrient levels. If you do buy peas in the pod, you’ll need about 350 grams (12 oz) of pods to fill a cup with shelled peas. And tempting as it is to pick up a pack of ‘freshly’ shelled peas from your greengrocer or supermarket, only do so if you know they really have been freshly shelled and you plan to use them immediately. Boil, steam or microwave peas for about 4–5 minutes (remember, cooking destroys the nutrients) or add to rice dishes such as risottos, pilafs, pasta dishes, frittatas, soups and stews (at the last minute), or combine with a little mashed potato, sweet potato or yams. Peas with edible pods such as snowpeas and sugar snaps (immature pods) only need the minimum of cooking time, too, and are delicious in stir-fries, or steamed or cooked in the microwave for a side dish. Here are some serving suggestions:

• Whip up an omelette with onion, a little lean ham or bacon if you wish, plus corn kernels and fresh or frozen green peas.
  
• For comfort food, purée or mash cooked peas with chicken stock and a little light margarine.
  
• Add blanched snowpeas or sugar snaps to salads or serve with vegetable platters and dips.

– Low GI Eating Made Easy (Hachette Livre Australia, Hodder UK, Marlowe & Company USA)

Individual Frittatas with Capsicum, Sweet Potato, Baby Peas And Feta
Serves 6
Preparation time 15 minutes; Cooking time 30–35 minutes; Cooling time 10 minutes


Photo: Ian Hofstetter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 red (Spanish) onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum (pepper), cut into short thin strips
300 g (10½ oz) orange sweet potato, cut into 1 cm pieces
1 garlic clove, crushed
150 g (5½ oz) frozen baby green peas
70 g (2½ oz/1/3 cup) semi-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
100 g (3½ oz) low fat fetta, crumbled
olive oil spray
7 eggs
125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) low fat milk or soy milk
freshly ground black pepper
Dressed salad leaves, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC (375ºF/Gas 5). Spray a large 6-hole muffin pan with oil.
2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, capsicum, sweet potato and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the peas and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool a little. Stir in the semi-dried tomatoes and fetta.
3. Whisk the eggs and milk together. Season with pepper. Divide the vegetables among the muffin pan holes. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables. Bake for 20–5 minutes or until the frittatas are set and lightly golden. Set aside in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve warm with dressed salad leaves.

Nutritional analysis per individual frittata
Energy 1052 kJ/251 cal, protein 17 g, fat 12 g (sat fat 4 g), fibre 5 g, carbohydrate 16 g

–The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook (Hachette Livre Australia, Hodder UK, Marlowe & Company USA)

Low GI Recipe of the Month

Gluten-free Apricot Nut Slice
‘Gluten-free recipes I can do. Recipes for people with diabetes I can do,’ said dietitian/home economist Diane Temple, ‘but together it’s a pretty tough challenge.’ And after lots of testing, here’s Diane’s delicious gluten-free slice that’s ideal for school lunch boxes. It is easy and quick to make, contains good fats and is rich in fibre. From our calculations, the GI is likely to be moderate. This is because the GI of the gluten-free biscuits you use and the rice flour will probably be high, but the dried fruits are low. Here’s a tip before you whip up a batch: when baking slices, check the actual base measurement of the pan, you’ll find it may be different from the labelled size – usually a little smaller.



Makes 12 pieces ▪ Preparation time 10 minutes ▪ Cooking time 25 minutes

Base
120 g (4 oz) plain, sweet gluten free biscuits
1/3 cup (60 g/2 oz) brown rice flour
1/3 cup (35 g/1¼ oz) hazelnut meal
40 g (1½ oz) polyunsaturated or monounsaturated margarine, melted
1 egg white

Filling
200 g (7 oz) dried apricots
60 g (2 oz) dried cherries
1 cup (250 ml) water
2 teaspoons caster sugar
30 g (1 oz) flaked almonds

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Grease 26 x 16 cm/10½ in x 6½ (base measurement) slice pan.* Line the base and the 2 long sides with baking paper and extend the paper a few centimetres above the edge of the pan to help with removing the slice when it is cooked and cooled.
2. To make the base: combine the biscuit crumbs, flour and hazelnut meal in a medium bowl. Whisk the egg white until slightly foamy. Add the margarine and egg white to the crumbs and mix together using your hands to combine. Press the mixture into the base of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until base is lightly browned.
3. For the topping: place the apricots, cherries and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until the fruit is soft, stirring occasionally to break up the fruit. Mix through the sugar. Spread the filling evenly over the cooked base. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top.
4. Bake the slice for 15 minutes or until the almonds are lightly toasted. Leave in the pan to cool. Slice when cold and store in an airtight container.

*Slice pan labelled size is 19 x 29 cm (11½ x 7½ in)

Nutritional analysis per piece
Energy 720 kJ/170 cal, protein 3 g, fat 9 g (sat fat 2 g), fibre 3 g, carbohydrate 21 g

For professional recipe development or testing contact Diane Temple on:
tel 612 9958 3165 ▪ email diane.temple@bigpond.com

Your Success Stories

‘It is nothing short of a miracle’– Rose
My husband had a major stroke in 2004, and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, as well. His blood sugar has been like a roller coaster no matter how carefully I monitored his diet, until we accidentally happened upon The Low GI Diet Guide to Diabetes at our local book store. For the past 3 weeks we have followed your 7-days of menus religiously and my husband’s blood sugar has been holding so well it is unbelievable. The calorie and carb levels of your menu plans appear to be absolutely perfectly calibrated as he cannot exercise because he is paralysed.

It is nothing short of a miracle. In just 3 short weeks there's been a remarkable turnaround in his blood sugar and in the way he feels. His blood sugar has been right on target every day and he has lost 6 pounds! It's wonderful to see him feeling so well. Now he has asked if I could come up with 7 more days of menus so that he doesn’t eat the same thing every week!



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?

Weight Watchers Healthy Parent Healthy Child: simple rules for a healthy-weight home
By Karen Miller-Kovach



The sub title says it all. Using insights gained from an ongoing family pilot program being conducted by WeightWatchers in the US, this book gives parents some practical tips to help them navigate today’s fast food, time poor culture and create a healthy-weight home. It’s based on five basic rules and the five special roles that parents need to play to help give their kids a healthy lifestyle. It’s not about nutrition and there are only a few recipes. It’s really about behaviour (eating and activity) and how you can make some little changes about the house that can make a big difference. There are lots of personal stories from the actual families and Weight Watcher ‘coaches’ who participated in the pilot program making it more than just theory. No single book is going to solve the obesity crisis, but you may find this one may a handy guide if you are looking for practical pointers to help you make some changes to your family’s diet and lifestyle. So what are the five simple rules?

1. Focus on wholesome nutritious foods
2. Include treats
3. Aim to keep homework computer or television time at two hours (or less) a day
4. Try and be active an hour a day or more
5. The Rules apply to everyone in the home.

And the five roles that parents play:
Role model ▪ Provider ▪ Enforcer ▪ Protector ▪ Advocate

Australia: Allen & Unwin RRP $29.95

Feedback—Your FAQs Answered

I have gestational diabetes. What should I choose from the menu at my local Asian restaurant to stick to my daily food guide for carb serves – a noodle soup with rice noodles; a dish with rice noodles (thick or thin); a dish with Hokkien (egg) noodles; or a dish with boiled rice?
The noodle soup is probably best as the noodles are low GI and the amount in a soup should fit into your recommended carb serves per meal. The other noodle dishes are also low GI, but will probably have a larger quantity of noodles, so you would need to limit the amount of these you eat and combine them with some vegetables. Or you could ask the restaurant proprietor to make you a noodle dish with half the amount of noodles as usual and to fill the rest of the plate with vegetables. In an Asian restaurant, the rice is likely to be Jasmine, long grain or calrose – all of which are high GI, so it is best to limit this. If you were choosing rice, keep the portion small, and again fill your plate with lots of vegetables.



I love to bake, but want to reduce the GI of the products? Here are my questions – all seven of them!

1. Can I estimate the GI/GL for baked goods?
   Estimating the GI of baked goods is not an accurate science by any means. There are too many variables that can affect the resultant GI and GL. It is always best to test baked goods. However we can make general assumptions – such as replacing flour with lower GI ingredients such as oats, dried fruit, oat bran and so on. Estimating a final GI would only ever be a rough estimate however.
   
   
2. Since spelt flour hasn’t been GI tested, can I estimate its GI value?
   No we can’t estimate it and given the reported health properties of this grain (it is a variety of wheat) it would be nice to have it tested. It does have a higher protein content than plain or all-purpose wheat flour and this may make a difference, although not necessarily. With the present information we could only play conservatively and give it the same GI as plain or all-purpose wheat flour – but emphasise the other nutritional qualities of spelt.
   
   
3. Flax seed and oat bran are said to lower GI, what proportion is necessary to get a lowering effect?
   To get a GI lowering effect the flaxseed or oat bran would need to replace some of the flour – the extra soluble fibre is what really has an effect on the GI. It’s difficult to put an absolute value on how much but we would estimate as least 10% in order to have a realistic effect on the GI. You need to weigh up how much can be added without negatively affecting the taste of the end product.
   
   
4. Ingredients like almonds, sunflower seeds, soy protein, eggs, butter – are they just ‘bulk’ that will ‘dilute’ the GI/GL per gram of finished product? Or will they have actual effect on GI?
   None of these ingredients contain an appreciable amount of carbohydrate and so do not have a GI themselves and neither will they affect the GI of the end product. They will however affect the GL since they alter the gram weight of the finished cookie…in other words more fat and protein will reduce the amount of carbohydrate per gram of cookie.
   
   
5. Is brown sugar the same as regular sucrose?
   Yes – although marginally less carbohydrate per 100 grams than white sugar any effect on GL will be minimal. Brown sugar is just sucrose with some of the molasses still present.
   
   
6. Is there a GI value for molasses?
   No – but it is unlikely to be very different from sucrose since it is predominantly sucrose, with some fructose and glucose also present. It does however contain less carbohydrate per 100g than brown or white sugar and so the contribution to the overall GI and GL of the product will be affected if molasses replaces some of the sugar in the original recipe. There are of course a few extra minerals found in molasses too.
   
   
7. I use fructose in my baking when it’s doable, but right now there is a lot of debate about fructose and it’s being described as the really bad guy.
   Fructose is a refined carbohydrate, and as such we recommend using it in moderation – 1–2 teaspoons in a cup of tea or coffee, and up to about a ½ cup as a sweetening substitute for sugar in recipes. After this we would start recommending you opt for a non-nutritive sweetener, especially if you had diabetes.

I have recently been diagnosed with irritable bowel disease and am interested to know if following a low GI diet would be recommended to help control my symptoms. I am also trying to lose weight.
A low GI diet could certainly help you with weight loss, but IBS is very individualised when it comes to diet. It would be best to see an Accredited Practising or Registered Dietitian who could help to design an eating plan to help with both your IBS symptoms and with losing weight.


Look it up in our A–Z: The GI Glossary (continued)



Starches are long chains of sugar molecules. They are called polysaccharides (poly meaning many). They are not sweet-tasting. There are two sorts – amylose and amylopectin.

Amylose is a straight-chain molecule, like a string of beads. These tend to line up in rows and form tight compact clumps that are harder to gelatinise and therefore digest.

Amylopectin is a string of glucose molecules with lots of branching points, such as you see in some types of seaweed. Amylopectin molecules are larger and more open and the starch is easier to gelatinise and digest.

Starch gelatinisation is what happens when starch granules have swollen and burst during cooking – the starch is said to be fully gelatinised. The starch in raw food is stored in hard, compact granules that make it difficult to digest. Most starchy foods need to be cooked for this reason. During cooking, water and heat expand the starch granules to different degrees; some granules actually burst and free the individual starch molecules. The swollen granules and free starch molecules are very easy to digest because the starch-digesting enzymes in the small intestine have a greater surface area to attack. A food containing starch that is fully gelatinised will therefore have a very high GI value.

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), native to South America, first came to the attention of the Western world in the 1800s, but remained relatively obscure until it was used as an alternative sweetener in the UK during the Second World War. It’s not widely available. The leaves of this semi-tropical herb of the aster family are around 30 times sweeter than cane sugar but with no kilojoules (calories). As a herb, the leaves can be used fresh or dried. In the dried form less than 2 tablespoons of crushed leaves can replace a cup of sugar, although it's hard to be specific as actual sweetness can vary. Stevioside, its extract, is 250–300 times sweeter than sucrose and is not approved for use as a food in Australia but is listed as a ‘therapeutic good’ with the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Sugars are a type of carbohydrate. The simplest is a single-sugar molecule called a monosaccharide (mono meaning one, saccharide meaning sweet). Glucose is a monosaccharide that occurs in food (as glucose itself and as the building block of starch). If two monosaccharides are joined together, the result is a disaccharide (di meaning two). Sucrose, or common table sugar, is a disaccharide, as is lactose, the sugar in milk. As the number of monosaccharides in the chain increases, the carbohydrate becomes less sweet. Maltodextrins are oligosaccharides (oligo meaning a few) that are 5 or 6 glucose residues long and commonly used as a food ingredient. They taste only faintly sweet. Sugars found in food:

Monosaccharides (single-sugar molecules)
glucose
fructose
galactose

Disaccharides (two single-sugar molecules)
maltose = glucose + glucose
sucrose = glucose + fructose
lactose = glucose + galactose

Triglycerides also known as triacylglycerols or blood fats are another type of fat linked with increased risk of heart disease. Having too much triglyceride often goes hand in hand with having too little HDL cholesterol. Having high levels of triglycerides can be inherited, but it’s most often associated with being overweight or obese. Normal ranges for triglycerides are 1.0–2.3 mmol/L, people with diabetes should aim to keep their triglyceride levels under 2.0 mmol/L as they are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease.

Making the Most of GI News

Your questions answered
If you have posted a question in our newsletter, be assured that the GI Group will answer this as soon as possible. We welcome your views about our articles and other reader’s suggestions. Please POST your comments and questions on the site.

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Copyright
GI News endeavours to check the veracity of news stories cited in this free e-newsletter by referring to the primary source, but cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies in the articles so published. GI News provides links to other World Wide Web sites as a convenience to users, but cannot be held responsible for the content or availability of these sites. This document may be copied and distributed provided the source is cited as GI News and the information so distributed is not used for profit.

© ® & ™ The University of Sydney, Australia

GI News—September 2006

In This Issue:

• Food for Thought
  —Burning up
  
• GI News Briefs
  —The vegan advantage
  —High blood glucose linked to dementia
  —Not chubby by choice
  —The chromium question
  
• GI Values Updates
  —The latest GI values from SUGiRS: Ginger
  —The mystery of BR16
  
• Low GI Food of the Month
  —Low GI and gluten free
  
• Low GI Recipe of the Month
  —Thai-style pear and chicken salad
  
• Success Stories
  —Amy kills two birds with one stone
  
• What's New?
  —The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook
  
• Feedback—Your FAQs Answered
  Joanna McMillan-Price and Alan Barclay answer this month’s FAQs
  
  1. I am 53 and not overweight, but I constantly feel tired and run down. And my mood can get low at times. Would low GI eating be of benefit to me?
     
  2. Does it matter if you eat less protein than is recommended in the 12-week action plan on The Low GI Diet?
     
  3. I heard people with diabetes should eat between meal snacks and supper before going to bed – is that true?
  4. Look it up in our A–Z: The GI Glossary continued
     

In late August we welcomed aboard the 20,000th subscriber to GI News. As a thank you, we have a special gift – a copy of The Low GI Diet Cookbook. At the same time we would like to thank all our subscribers who have helped to make the Newsletter a great success and whose comments and questions play a key role in shaping each issue.

The publishers of the New Glucose Revolution series, Hachette Livre Australia, Hodder Mobius UK and Marlowe & Company New York, have also 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.



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