Home / March 2025 / GI VALUES OF SOME HIGH PROTEIN, LOW GI FOODS
GI VALUES OF SOME HIGH PROTEIN, LOW GI FOODS
As discussed in this month’s edition of Perspectives, you don’t need to eat meat, poultry and seafood with low GI carbs – a broad variety of high protein, low GI foods are commonly consumed in many parts of the world, and many can be enjoyed by vegetarians and vegans. To help illustrate this, in this month’s shopper’s guide, we look at a range of foods that are high in protein and have a low glycemic index.
For people with diabetes
To those of you who count your carbohydrate intake in grams, exchanges or portions, we have included the details for each of these.
15g carbohydrate exchange – a serve containing 12-18g carbohydrate.
10g carbohydrate portion – a serve containing 7.6-12.5g carbohydrate.
Reduced fat (1.5%) cow’s milk
GI 29
Serving: 1 Cup (250 mL or 8.5 Fl. ounces)
Energy
Available carbohydrate (g)
Exchanges
Portions
Glycemic load (g)
585 kJ or 140 Cal
15.5
1
1.5
4.5
Regular fat soy milk
GI 37
Serving: 1 Cup (250 mL or 8.5 Fl. ounces)
Energy
Available carbohydrate (g)
Exchanges
Portions
Glycemic load (g)
635 kJ or 150 Cal
11.9
1
1
4.5
Greek Style yoghurt
GI 12
Serving: ½ Cup (130 g or 4.6 Ounce)
Energy
Available carbohydrate (g)
Exchanges
Portions
Glycemic load (g)
575 kJ or 140 Cal
11.7
1
1
1.5
Mixed nuts
GI 24
Serving: 1 handful (28 g or 1 Ounce)
Energy
Available carbohydrate (g)
Exchanges
Portions
Glycemic load (g)
710 kJ or 170 Cal
2.5
<0.25
<0.25
0.5
Four (4) bean mix (Chickpeas, Great Northern Beans, Lima Beans, Red Kidney Beans
Dr Alan Barclay, PhD, is a consultant dietitian and chef with a particular interest in carbohydrates and diabetes. He is author of Reversing Diabetes (Murdoch Books), and co-author of 40 scientific publications, The Good Carbs Cookbook (Murdoch Books), Managing Type 2 Diabetes (Hachette Australia) and The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners (The Experiment Publishing).
