You always hear that ‘bread, rice or pasta’ are bad for you and that they shouldn’t be included in your diet. What a bad name these foods have gotten over the past years. It may be fair to say that some wholegrains are better than others but why is this? It comes down to a concept called ‘Glycemic Index’ which is a term used to describe how quickly the carbohydrates you have eaten gets broken down and enters the blood stream. Eating carbohydrates is important as it’s the body’s main fuel source!
There are three different categories for the GI described below:
Low GI = a slow release of energy
- Want to include often
- Due to these foods having more fibre and slowing down the time it takes to travel through out gut
- Low GI foods include vegetables, fruit, wholemeal bread and pasta and brown rice
Medium GI = somewhere in between
- Still beneficial for health as provides a quality source of energy
- Shouldn’t be chosen in majority over low GI
- Medium GI foods include fruit juice, basmati rice, wholemeal breads
High GI = Foods we want to limit in our diet.
- Can cause a rapid spike and dip in our energy levels leaving us feeling fatigued
- Usually processed foods and high in energy which makes it difficult to manage our weight
- High GI foods include white bread, white potato, short grain rice, lollies and sweets
Tips to lower the GI in your diet:
- Using lemon juice as a dressing
- Eating these foods with protein
- Cooking and then cooling wholegrains like rice or potato
Try this week’s recipe: A meatball soup that is full of tomato’s which will give you the sense of a traditional Italian pasta dish, without having to worry about any high GI ingredients! This is a great lunch time and dinner time option as it will help manage your energy levels by ensuring that they don’t spike to quickly and don’t dip down hard! Enjoy this one!
Here is a useful resource linked for further reading and visuals on the topic: https://baker.edu.au/-/media/documents/fact-sheets/Baker-Institute-factsheet-carbohydrates-and-glycaemic-index.pdf
If you have any questions about your diet or would like one-on-one dietary advice from your Able Dietician, send us a message letting us know what you’re after and we’ll be in touch to help you achieve your goals!
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