The case for a low GI diet

In 1999, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recommended that people in industrialised countries base their diets on low GI foods in order to prevent the most common diseases of affluence, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

The prevalence of obesity and increasing rates of type 2 diabetes in most developed nations has created a demand for effective and sustainable weight loss diets to reduce this burden of disease. There is now a large body of evidence accumulated over four decades that low GI diets assist with diabetes prevention and management.

Why follow a low GI diet?

The science shows that a low GI diet reduces the risk of developing significant health problems, and is a simple and effective way to:

• Manage weight by controlling appetite and delaying hunger
• Fuel the body for sustained energy
• Improve pregnancy outcomes
• Reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease
• Improve concentration
• Increase physical performance by extending endurance
• Reduce breast cancer risk
• Manage Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• Decrease the risk of common diabetic complications
• Feel fuller for longer
• Benefit eye health and prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness
• Reduce acne

Making low GI choices is not a dramatic change. It simply means swapping at least one high GI food for a low GI food at every meal.

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