Knowing the GI of foods is of particular value to people with diabetes who need to control blood glucose levels. Diabetes organisations such as Diabetes Australia and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation encourage an understanding and use of GI in meal planning.

However, lowering the GI of diet can also lead to better health for everybody through improved heart health and appetite control.

Health and nutrition authorities recommend that GI be a part of food choice decisions:

• In 1998, the World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation recommended that the glycemic index of carbohydrate foods be a factor in food choice (1).
• The Dietary Guidelines for Older Australians (1999) specifically recommend the consumption of lower GI cereal-based foods: “Eat plenty of cereals, breads and pastas - preferably high-fibre foods and those with a lower glycemic index” (2).
• The Australian National Evidence-Based Guidelines for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus recommend a low energy density diet and wide range of carbohydrate foods rich in fibre and low in GI for reducing the risk of Type 2 Diabetes Click here
• The European Association for the Study of Diabeties recommends low GI carbohydrates and hight fibre foods (3)

For more information about the GI and health, contact an Accredited Practising Dietitian (in Australia) or registered dietitian.

References

1. Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Health Organisation. Carbohydrates in Human Nutrition.
   Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation. Rome, 14-18 April 1997. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 66, 1998.
2. National Health and Medical Research Council. Dietary Guidelines for Older Australians. Ausinfo, Canberra, 1999.
3. The Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group (DNSG) of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) (2000). Recommendations for the nutritional management of patients with diabetes mellitus. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54:353-355.