What’s New?

Your Success Stories
Susie ‘43, but feeling like 29 now!’
June 2005: ‘I’d like to let you know that I purchased The Low GI Diet book three months ago, because I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I didn’t know where to start or how to begin to plan my meals. With the help of your fabulous book I have managed to lose 1 stone (14 lb/6.3 kg) in weight. And of course the book has taken a lot of thinking out of planning meals. My husband also thinks its great and loves the recipes.’
October 2005: ‘I thought I’d give you an update as I emailed you in June, just to let know that I have now lost a total of 4 stone (56 lb/25.4 kg) in weight and am feeling so much better for it. I am at my target weight and have been for about two months now.’
November 2005: ‘I don’t mind at all being your first true story, people like me needed a book like yours and it works. I did not feel like I was on a “diet” as such because I felt as though I was always eating. It took a bit of getting use to at first because I’m not a veggie person at all, but found using Balsamic vinegar with salads helped. And I did cheat with main meals by having gravy as I don’t like dry food or veggies but I ate them. I guess if I had religiously stuck to the book I would probably be down to 9–9½ stone (126–133 lb/56.7–60 kg). But my weight has gone from nearly 14½ stone (203 lb/92 kg) to 10 stone (140 lb/63 kg). And I feel you needed to be told that your book worked for me. The other thing is I did do more exercise than the book said.’

Books, DVDs, Websites: What’s New?
Shopper’s Guide to GI Values 2006
This handy shopper’s guide to the GI values of around 600 foods will help you put those low GI food choices into your shopping trolley and onto your plate. To make an absolutely fair comparison, all foods included in the guide have been tested following an internationally standardised method. However, the authors remind readers that the GI is just one tool in the toolbox and should not be used in isolation. The overall nutritional value of the food needs to be considered, too. The authors remind readers that not all low GI foods are a good choice; some are too high in saturated fat and sodium for everyday eating. Foods that are high in saturated fat, for example are indicated.

The authors recommend that you use the GI tables to:

• identify the best carbohydrate choices
• find the GI of your favourite foods
• compare carb-rich foods within a category (two types of bread or breakfast cereal for example)
• improve your diet by finding a low GI substitute for high GI foods
• put together a low GI meal
• help you calculate the GL of a meal or serving if it is more or less than our specified nominal portion size

To give you the full picture of the glycemic impact of foods, the tables also include the glycemic load (GL) of average sized portions. Glycemic load is the product of GI and the amount of carbohydrate in a serving of food. Use the GL tables to find foods with a high GI but low carbohydrate content per serving. Remember: the GL values listed in the tables are ONLY for the specified nominal portion size. If you eat more (or less) of that food you will need to calculate another GL value.

If you can’t find the GI value for a food you regularly eat, the authors suggest that you check out www.glycemicindex.com—an international database of the latest published GI values that have been tested by a reliable laboratory. Alternatively, contact the manufacturer and encourage them to have the food tested by an accredited laboratory or to publish the values of their products.

The Shopper’s Guide to GI Values is published in:
Australia: Hachette Livre Australia (www.hachette.com.au/ngr.html)
New Zealand: (Hachette Livre New Zealand)
USA and Canada: Marlowe & Company (in store January 2006)

CORRECTION
Catherine Saxelby’s healthy eating and nutrition website is www.foodwatch.com.au