Glycemic Index Diet: The Hype Grows
It seems there is always something "revolutionary" when it comes to weight loss. Over the past 6 months, the buzz surrounding the Glycemic Index (or Gylcaemic Index in the UK) has grown unabated.
This large piece in the Health Telegraph is calling the GI "the new Atkins":
Unlike the Atkins, the cabbage soup and all the other diet crazes that have come and gone over the past decade or so, the GI has the thumbs-up from the medical establishment as well as the fashion pack.
It's intriguing really. The South Beach Diet (bestseller, released in April 2003) is based on the GI, and so is the pre-packaged weight loss program NutriSystem. For some reason (unknown to me) the GI has suddenly become fashionable.
I remain unconvinced. The GI is very useful in determining potential insulin response from various carbohydrates - and is particularly helpful for diabetics and other blood sugar issues (such as hypoglycemia). However once again we see a great and useful concept marketed as the panacea for all weight loss. The GI has been packaged together and called a "diet". It now has a number of incarnations and versions - (such as the Glycemic Impact Diet and The Holford Diet).
A Sample of the GI Diet
Rick Gallop's "The GI Diet" is one version of a glycemic index based diet. He splits food into 3 groups:Green
(eat freely)
Bakery: 100 per cent stoneground wholemeal bread; wholegrain, high-fibre breads (about 3g of fibre per slice)
Fish: all fresh fish; fish tinned in water; sashimi; smoked fish; squid; mussels; oysters; prawns; lobster; fresh crab; fresh clams
Meat: lean minced beef; back bacon; lean deli ham; tenderloin; chicken, game or turkey breast without skin; veal; venison
Pasta: all unadorned pasta - wholemeal is even better
Grains: barley; basmati rice; brown rice; quinoa, buckwheat; bulgur wheat; wild rice
Fruit and vegetables: all fresh green vegetables; tomatoes; peppers; fresh peas; carrots; cauliflower; mushrooms; new potatoes; most fresh fruit
Dairy: skimmed milk; cottage cheese; non-fat yogurt
Drinks: water; decaffeinated coffee; diet soft drinks (without caffeine); light instant chocolate; weak tea
Also: tinned tomatoes, tomato puree; dried beans; low-fat baked beans; tinned chick peas; tinned butter beans; vinegar; olive oil; low-fat low sugar dressings; olives; hummus
Yellow
(very limited quantities)
Bakery: wholemeal pitta bread; rye bread; sourdough; thin wholemeal pizza crust; wholegrain breads
Fish: salt cod; seafood salads
Meat: sirloin beef; fresh ham; pork shank; roast or casseroled chicken or turkey; turkey bacon; lamb loin chops
Pasta: rice noodles; basil pesto
Fruit and veg: artichokes; corn; beetroot; pumpkin; squash; sweet potatoes; apricots; bananas; mango; pineapple
Drinks: most unsweetened juice; non-alcoholic beer; vegetable juices; diet soft drinks with caffeine
Dairy: one per cent fat milk; low-fat cream cheese; low-fat cheese; low-fat mozzarella; soya cheese
Also: most tinned vegetables; sesame oil; vegetable oil; sunflower oil
Red
(avoid these)
Bakery: bagels; baguette; croissants; crumpets; white bread
Fish: breaded fish or seafood; seafood pate
Meat: sausages; beef on the bone; streaky bacon; spare ribs; duck; goose; offal
Pasta: pasta filled with meat or cheese; pasta sauces with added sugar; cream sauces
Grains: arborio rice; millet; instant rice
Vegetables: broad beans; parsnips; swede; turnips; mashed or baked potatoes; melons, including watermelon; tinned peas
Dairy: cream; full-fat milk; goats' milk; rice milk; most cheese; full-fat yogurt; sour cream
Drinks: all sweetened drinks; coffee; alcohol; sports drinks; tonic water; watermelon juice
Broad beans not allowed? Maybe that's the reason people are suddenly interested in the GI diet ;-)
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41 Comments
Add Your Comment
Created / Updated: November 10, 2011
Re: Glycemic Index Diet...
Gosh! No liver, kidneys, heart? I couldn't do this diet. I love liver. And the British will be up in arms; no steak and kidney pie, crumpets, or toad-in-the-hole.
Let's hear it for the medicos and the fashion pack. They make life interesting, if dull.
ReplySome of the suggested food changes here are excellent. I self-published my own successful weight loss plan on lulu.com. Successful readers may wish to do likewise. I recommend small, permanent changes one at a time. My favorite is 10 calorie hot chocolate, my own recipe. Forever 107: A Common Sense Approach to Weight Loss is only $1.88 download version on lulu.com. Carrol Wolverton
ReplyThe broad bean thing with GI diet, can anyone shed light?. The whole thing works really well for us (we are vegetarian), missing cheese, but can eat all the beans we like except Broad Beans???
ReplyThe GI of Broad Beans is 79 - which is high - BUT the glycemic load is 4.1 - which is not that high. I personally don't see what the problem is here. Remember the above food listing is from Rick Gallop's book. There are other versions of GI diets that make more use of glycemic load.
ReplyThe original Glycemic Index was created in the early '80s by a team of scientists at the University of Toronto in Canada, and was in response to a growing problem among diabetics. The recommendation at the time was to avoid carbohydrates, and as a result their blood sugars were good and instead they were dying of heart attacks from a high fat diet - what some would call the Atkins phenomena.
ReplySeven years ago I developed diabetes type II as a result of damage to my pancreas from a hereditary blood disorder (hemochromatosis). I didn't like the warning labels on the prescription meds my doctor was giving me, and while looking for alternatives stumbled over the Glycemic Index.
I've since stuck to a strict GI giet (barley, steel cut oats, whole rye bread, squash, wholewheat fettucini and beans as carb sources rather than wheat, potatoes and rice). I've also managed to put in a couple of hours of walking every day. Protein sources are mainly fish and lean chicken.
After seven years, I could walk into a doctors office and have a full checkup and he or she wouldn't detect my diabetes. It hasn't gone away, it's just being controlled, day by day, by healthy eating and activity.
As an unexpected but welcome 'side effect' of this, my weight dropped from 224 to 164 lbs, and has stayed there for the past years, for a healthy BMI of 23. So yeah, not surprised the 'diet industry' is discovering the Glycemic Index.
However, when the users discover that there are no freebees, that it needs to be supplemented with regular exercise and that it has to become a lifelong thing, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Tor
Actually that is propaganda that heart attacks went up from the Atkins diet. It is actually due to the increase in high frutose corn syrup, that they started putting in everything the past few decades, which is off the charts when it comes to glycemic index. I have been on the diet since 1979 and my heart is perfect and so is my sugar level.
ReplyWhere are you getting your information? The GI of high fructose corn syrup is not "off the charts"... it's moderate at best (or worst).
The GI of fructose is very low with a value of 20. Sugar and honey, both with similar compositions to high fructose corn syrup, have moderate GI values that range from 55 to 60.27 Although it has not yet been specifically measured, high fructose corn syrup would be expected to have a moderate GI because of its similarity in composition to honey and sugar.
It must be kept in mind that the body does not respond to the GI of individual ingredients, but rather to the GI of the entire meal. Since added sugars (principally sugar and high fructose corn syrup) typically contribute less than 20 percent of calories,28 it is clear that high fructose corn syrup is a minor contributor to the overall GI in a normal diet.
"Propaganda" comes in many forms and from many sources.
ReplyI'm happy for Tor's success. The large diabetic health organizations do not support the glycemic index. I think it is great for weight control and may be the best thing ever for diabetics. Why won't the big organizations get behind this. I have to be challenged by diabetic inlaws that think they are supposed to be eating cool whip and nabisco pie crust. They think I'm nuts for trying to help my husband with the GI diet.
ReplyThe big Organizations won't get behind it because if you can fix your problem with a simple change in diet and can loose the shot everyday you won't be making their bank account bigger now would yah?
NEVER accept the word of someone who is after your money!!
Jill
ReplyNice feature of the low-GI diet (such as South Beach):
with plenty of vegetables, and reasonable amounts of
chicken, fish, and lean meat, you feel well fed.
Your blood sugar stays low, your insulin stays low,
Replyand you have stable metabolism. Very helpful, to
get through the day without carb cravings. A well-designed low GI diet achieves that.
Hi there,
ReplyDoes anybody know why GI is such a hype in some countries (UK, South Africa, Australia) but of not in other.
Love to hear it
Gie
The countries you mention have history with the British Empire as do we. It is starting to be hyped here too. I think the concept was invented in Australia and to some extent in Canada who also have British roots.
ReplyFrances has the right of it. I believe it was Canada where the GI was first "invented" - and one Australian university has done a lot of study into the GI of various foods. A lot of British authors like Gallop and Holford have written books based around the GI for UK audiences. For some reason over the last 6 months the US (or the marketers?) has finally seemed to take notice.
This doesn't mean the GI is hot air - I think it's a great tool for understanding insulin response from certain carbs - it's a good way to eat - but it's just another tool.
ReplyCan anyone explain the difference between the CSIRO diet and the GI diet?Also is there an indication of how much (eg weight or portion wise) individual food items should be consumed to lose weight?
Replyjust wondering why some breads eg wholegrain are on the low and medium list. what would be a good substituet for bread adn a sandwitch
ReplyI make lettuce wraps with sandwich fillings. There really is no substitute for bread. While whole grain breads seem to rank medium on the GI lists they have more calories than white bread. I know the Atkins and South Beach plans steer away from counting calories, but a typical diet might include two servings of bread per meal. This can add up to 600 calories per day, not to mention what you might put on it.
Low GI is really the same thing as low carb. The old fashioned word for high carb or high glycemic food is starch. None of this is new. I'm 58 years old and can remember my grandmother saying don't eat anything white.
ReplyIfound out I was a diabetic,when I eat alot of carb foods and sweets,my sugar goes down.I do not take no
Replymedecine,now Iwatch what I eat.I love cheese,and eggs
and veggies I do not eat pork I very seldom eat beef.
I do not like much fish I like tuna fish,ground turkey,
and chicken.I bought Splenda, and Splenda Brown Sugar.
I now use unsweet chocolate, soy flour wheat flour to
make desserts. I also love pecans. Is there any thing
else I need to know?