Why Follow a Low Gi Diet
A healthy low Gi diet is for everyone. Whether you are looking to improve your general health, prevent or manage a specific health condition, a low Gi diet can help you do just that.
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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.
“Ben had the beginnings of pre-diabetes, and we signed up for the Preview study in the hope that maybe a low GI diet might be the thing to decrease chances of him developing it, considering his dad’s history of diabetes. We followed the diet for three years, and were amazed at the impact of the study – we all lost weight, and blood sugar levels went back down to normal, and we’ve maintained what we learnt on the diet. The main things we changed was our understanding of the GI levels of foods, our diet became healthier all round. ”
NSW
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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A low Gi diet focuses on the quality of carbohydrates you eat. Good carbohydrates (or low Gi carbohydrates) are more slowly digested helping keep your blood sugars stable, whereas bad carbohydrates cause your blood glucose levels to peak and crash. Want to know which carbohydrates are best for you? Try our swap it tool!