Download Lower GI food list - Glycemic Index Foundation

Lower GI food list
To help you lower the GI of your diet, we have put
together this simple shopping list of healthier choices.
And look out in bookshops for the Low GI Diet:
Shopper’s Guide 2013. Remember, just because a food
has a lower GI does not always mean it’s the best choice
– look for the GI Symbol for extra assurance.
GI rating:
Low GI = 55 or less;
Medium GI = 56 – 69;
High GI = 70 or more
Food
GI*
Breads
Dense wholegrain
breads
Multigrain breads
Fruit bread
36-53
43-52
53
Vermicelli
Spaghetti, white,
boiled
Rice noodles (fresh)
Basmati and
Doongara white rice
35
38-49
40
54-58
52-58
30-55
Sweeteners
30
32
14-40
37-43
27-48
Vegetables and Legumes
Dairy Products
Fat reduced milk Skim milk Diet yoghurts
Fat reduced custard
Low fat ice cream
GI*
Rice, Pasta and Noodles
Breakfast Cereals
Traditional
porridge oats
Muesli
Food
Make
Healthy
Choices
Easier
Fruit Apple – fresh or dried
38
Orange
42
Peach
42
Pear
38
Strawberries
40
Grapefruit
25
Banana
52
Mango
51
Fruit juices
37-48
Fruit spreads 46-55
Grapes 53
Fructose based
Low GI sugar
19
50
Baked beans, canned
in tomato sauce
49
Soya beans – fresh or
canned in brine
14-20
Canned – kidney
beans, butter beans,
chickpeas
36-37
Green lentils, dried
and boiled
37
Peas – frozen, boiled
48
Sweetcorn on the cob,
boiled
48
Broccoli, Very low
cauliflower,
carb so
capsicum, celery, no GI
leeks, mushrooms, rating
silverbeet,
yellow squash
Look for
the Symbol
*Typical values
© ® & ™ The University of Sydney
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www.gisymbol.com
For a healthier,
more satisfying
diet…
Look for the
Symbol
The GI Symbol makes healthier choices easier
While most of us know that our health and wellbeing
will improve if we eat more nutritious foods, the reality
is that a lack of time and busy lifestyles often contribute
to poor food choices.
Unfortunately, poor food choices are a major cause of
obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Reading and interpreting nutrition information on foods
is a complex task, and who has the time to study and
compare the thousands of foods that are found in a
typical supermarket?
That’s where the GI Symbol comes in …
The GI Symbol is your trusted guide to healthier food
choices. Foods that carry the certified Low GI symbol
meet strict nutrient criteria for kilojoules, saturated
fat and sodium set by the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation Australia (JDRF), Diabetes Australia and
The University of Sydney. In addition, they have had
their glycemic index reliably tested at an accredited
laboratory.
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What is the Glycemic
Index?
The Glycemic Index (GI) is the scientifically proven way
of ranking carbohydrates, like breads and cereals, rice
and pasta, fruit, starchy vegetables and legumes, and
milk and yoghurt according to how they affect your
blood glucose (sugar) levels.
Most people don’t eat too much carbohydrate. In fact,
most people just eat the wrong kind of carbohydrate.
And that’s where GI comes in:
Not all carbohydrates are created equal
Carbohydrates with a low GI (55 or less) will make your
blood glucose rise slowly and fall gently over a longer
time. Carbohydrates with a high GI (70 or more) are
digested quickly causing your blood glucose levels to
spike and then crash.
Research has shown that we eat too many high GI
foods and not enough low GI foods. The bottom line is
that the average GI of our diet is often too high, putting
us at risk of developing significant health problems.
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How can the GI benefit
me? It’s all about balance
The scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of
a healthy low GI diet is overwhelming.
In Australia, 2 out of 3 men, 1 in 2 women, and 1 in 4
children are overweight or obese.
Lowering the GI of your diet will help prevent and
manage weight and obesity, which are the major
underlying causes of diabetes, heart disease and
some cancers.
1 in 4 adult Australians has diabetes or pre-diabetes.
2 in 5 adult Australians die of heart disease.
1 in 3 Australians die of cancer.
Extensive worldwide scientific research has shown
that low GI foods help to:
•F
ill you up and keep you satisfied for longer,
avoiding overeating
• Make fat easier to burn and less likely to be stored
• Improve cholestorol levels by lowering LDL (“bad”)
cholestorol and raising HDL (“good”) cholestorol
• Manage blood glucose levels
• Reduce your risk of developing diabetes
• Reduce your risk of heart disease
• Reduce your risk of developing some cancers
• Improve cognitive performance
• Reduce acne
• Sustain energy levels for longer
Low GI eating benefits everybody.
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In order to achieve any of these health benefits, it is
important that lower GI carbohydrates are part of a
healthy balanced diet.
This means swapping high GI foods for low GI choices
in the same food group or category. The foods you
choose should also be low in saturated fat, moderate in
sodium and high in fibre.
Serve size is also important, as eating too much of
any kind of food, even healthy choices, will most likely
make you put on weight.
Also, include in your daily routine 30 minutes of planned
exercise like walking, swimming, or riding a bike, plus
30 minutes of “incidental” activity like using the stairs
instead of the lift.
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How do I lower the GI of
my diet?
Using the GI is really simple.
1 Replace higher GI foods with lower GI foods.
Breakfast – choose traditional porridge or muesli
instead of corn flakes or puffed rice cereals
Low
HIGH
Lunch – choose a wholegrain bread instead of
wholemeal or white breads*
*Note
exception:
lower GI
varieties.
Low
HIGH
Dinner – choose Basmati, Doongara or Moolgiri
rice instead of Jasmine rice
Low
HIGH
2 Consume
mostly lower GI carbohydrate foods at
each meal or snack.
3 Look for foods with the GI symbol when selecting
carbohydrate foods at the supermarket.
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You can enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods.
For overall good health and wellbeing, follow these
Dietary Guidelines:
• Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods
• Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits
• Eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and
noodles), preferably wholegrain and with a low GI
• Include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives
• Include milks, yoghurts, cheeses and/or alternatives.
Reduced-fat varieties should be chosen, where
possible
• Drink plenty of water
• Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake
• Choose foods low in salt
• Limit your alcohol intake if you choose to drink
• Consume only moderate amounts of added sugars and
refined starches
Should I avoid all high GI foods?
No. Some high GI foods, like most potatoes and brown
rice, are still nutritious.
Simply eat them in smaller quantities, combined with
a lower GI carbohydrate.
High GI foods are also useful during prolonged
physical activity or when treating hypoglycaemia in
people with diabetes.
What about sugar?
Not all sugars are the same. Many foods naturally high
in sugar are highly nutritious like fruit, milk and yoghurt.
Unfortunately food labels don’t help us to distinguish
between the slowly absorbed and rapidly absorbed
sugars or tell us whether the sugars are naturally
occurring or added.
It is therefore best to focus on the food’s total
carbohydrate and GI rating.
What about Glycemic Load?
Glycemic Load (GL) is a measure of both the quality and
quantity of a carbohydrate in a food or drink. GI is the
measure of quality. Therefore the best way to watch your
GL is to choose foods with the lowest GI within a food
group or category, and to be mindful of your serve size.
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How can I tell which
foods are low GI?
The GI Symbol Program is your trusted
guide for healthier food choices.
We’ve done the hard work for you.
The Glycemic Index Symbol Program
is a public health program based on
over 30 years of scientific research.
You can be confident that when you choose a product
that carries the GI symbol, the GI value stated near the
nutrition information panel is accurate and you’ve made
a healthy choice for that food category.
Foods that carry the certified low GI symbol are not
only low GI, but also meet very strict nutrient criteria,
which include specified limits for carbohydrate, energy
(kilojoules), total and saturated fat, sodium and, where
appropriate, fibre and calcium. The program also
guarantees that the food carrying the authentic GI
symbol has been reliably GI tested by an accredited
laboratory.
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Who is behind the GI
Symbol Program?
The Glycemic Index Foundation is a not-for-profit
company supported by the JDRF and the University
of Sydney.
The University of Sydney is one of the leading centres
for glycemic index research in the world.
The JDRF is one of Australia’s leading charities
supporting children and their families with diabetes and
working together to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.
Internationally, The World Health Organisation, Food
& Agriculture Organisation and Harvard School of
Public Health are among many who recommend GI
for healthy people. All diabetes associations in the
developed world recommend using the glycemic index.
For more information on the GI Foundation, visit
www.gisymbol.com
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What foods carry
the Low GI Symbol?
Look for these products at your local supermarket.
Look out for the
GI Symbol on
selected Coles
branded products
For a complete list of products that carry the GI Symbol
internationally, visit www.gisymbol.com
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