GI Update

Prof Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions
Can you explain to me why controlling your insulin levels is important for trimming inches off your waistline?
Controlling insulin levels is the name of the game when it comes to being able to tighten your belt a notch to two because insulin is a leading player in the fat storage game deciding whether you burn fat or carbohydrate to meet your energy needs. It does this by switching muscle cells from fat-burning to carb-burning.

For example, if your insulin levels are low, as they are when you wake up in the morning, then the fuel you burn is mainly fat. If your insulin levels are high, as they are after you consume a high carb meal, then the fuel you burn is mainly carbohydrate. However, if the carbs you eat are healthy low GI ones, then the pancreas doesn’t have to work as hard, it shoots out less insulin to manage your blood glucose levels and you burn more fat.

Why don’t we just ditch the carbs altogether? Well, reducing carbs doesn’t have the same benefits as swapping high GI for low GI carbs. Low carb meals don’t have desirable flow-on effects to the next meal. They don’t improve the health and function of the beta cell as low GI carbs do. And finally, low carb diets don’t improve blood fat levels over the long term. What’s more, it’s much easier for you (mentally and physically) to swap one carb source for another rather than banish them entirely from your diet. Most dieters who’ve lost weight on low carb diets join the yo-yo brigade (the yo-yo method of girth control).

New GI Values for meal replacement products from SUGiRS
SUGiRS tested the dry powder products with water following the manufacturers’ instructions.

Achievit
VLED Shake (Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry and Caffe Latte flavours) GI 22 – 17g available carbs per serving
VLED Soup (Creamy Chicken or Cream of Tomato and Veg) GI 20 – 17g available carbs per serving)

Tony Ferguson
Apricot Munch Bar GI 51 – 26g available carbs per serving (60g bar)
Berry Munch Bar 43g – 28g available carbs per serving (60g bar)
Crème of Chicken Soup GI 26 – 31g available carbs per serving
1 can (375ml) Chocolate Ready-to-Drink Shake GI 20 – 29g available carbs per serving
1 can (375ml) Espresso Ready-to-Drink Shake GI 20 – 31g available carbs per serving
Roast Pumpkin Soup GI 27 – 29g available carbs per serving
Chocolate Shake GI 22 – 29g available carbs per serving
Espresso Shake GI 22 – 30g available carbs per serving
Café Latte Shake GI 22 – 30g available carbs per serving

GI testing by an accredited laboratory
North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
20 Victoria Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M5C 298 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