The GI diet was originally designed for people with diabetes because 'GI' stands for 'Glycaemic index' which means it measures how much sugar will end up in your blood after eating a particular food. People with diabetes need to eat foods that don't put lots of sugar into the blood because they don't have the required amount of insulin to allow that sugar to enter their cells, so it stays in the blood and causes all sorts of medical issues.
When people without diabetes eat a food with sugar in it the body releases a hormone called insulin that allows the sugar to enter the cells to be used as energy. Any excess sugar is then converted into fat to be used in times of famine.
The low GI diet helped people with diabetes type II to loose weight in addition to causing more stable blood sugars. The weight loss is quite slow and steady as this diet helps the person to loose fat, which is usually lost at about 1 - 2 kgs a week.
In the days before sugar cane was grown and used to create pure sugar we got our sugar from natural foods. Carbohydrates contain sugar and some contain a lot more than others. The only food not to contain sugar in any form is protein, except for dairy because milk contains lactose, a form of sugar.
Natural cereals contain complex carbohydrates which means that they contain less sugar and take longer for the body to utilise. They also have fibre because it hasn't been removed in the manufacturing process. Oats are one of the best cereals for breakfast because it is a low GI food, has fibre and is good for lowering cholesterol. However once cereals go through the manufacturing process they are often refined and have both sugar and salt added because many people prefer their food this way. There are low GI cereals which are usually high fibre without added salt and sugar.
Some vegetables and fruit have quite a low GI such as tomatoes and most green vegetables however there are a few that have a really high sugar content such as white potatoes, pumpkin and parsnips which have the highest of all the vegetables.
It is quite easy to obtain a list of low GI foods and here is a link to just one of them:
http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/
This diet offers a wide range of foods so it is easy to have a varied and healthy diet however some foods can be quite difficult to assess their GI so if choosing this diet the person needs to have a list handy until they learn the most common foods, which are usually the ones they eat every day. Favourites like white rice can be swapped for low GI rice. Eating fast food is usually not advised because there is no way to really know the GI in any one item and a lot of fast food has added sugar. Even sushi has a high GI because of the sticky rice used. Eating out in restaurants can also be a little difficult until the GI of several foods is remembered but restaurants are usually very good about letting the person know what is in the dish and will have the chef cook things without the sauce.
Check with your health practitioner before undertaking any diet.
warmest wishes
Sarah
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