Australia leading in glycemic index awareness
CTV.ca News Staff

A growing number of nutritionists believe that the current fad of cutting carbs won't work in the long term. And Australia is leading the world in teaching its citizens about the glycemic index and how it might save them from heart disease and diabetes.

Helen Goddard was headed to developing Type 2 diabetes with the way she was eating. Now she's part of a national experiment in Australia to see if the epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and obesity can be averted by getting people to eat more low glycemic foods.

Prof. Jennie Brand Miller of the University of Sydney says Australians seem to be getting the message and are demanding to know more about how their favourite foods rate on the glycemic index.

"I think the food industry is preparing for a time that is coming very soon when the glycemic index will be allowed, where the consumer wants to see it," she says. "And the well prepared companies will have the data to put it straight on the label."

The glycemic index measures the effect of carbohydrates -- starches and sugars -- on our blood sugar levels.

Dramatic rises lead to high insulin levels and that has been linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more recently, some forms of cancer. Low glycemic diets, containing mostly fruits, whole grains and vegetables, are linked to lower disease rates.

Most unprocessed foods such as vegetables and fruits have been tested and have been found to have a low glycemic index. But researchers say not enough research has been done on the processed food that lines our store shelves, many of which may rate as high glycemic. Most of those products haven't been tested or labeled.

But now, Australia has become one of the first countries in the world to encourage food makers to start labelling the GI levels of their foods.

Some critics call the GI concept too complex for most consumers to understand. But some health officials such as Alan Varclay of Diabetes Australia think they've simplified the GI message.

"We just use the terms low, medium or high GI, telling people that it's just a matter of substituting low GI carbohydrates for high GI carbohydrates."

And Australians seem to be listening. Many say the GI index is something they now pay attention to.

Helen Goddard says she now avoids high GI foods, and eats more low GI carbohydrates. She says her dietary changes are not only healthier, they're more satisfying.

"Most low GI foods are more filling and more satisfying and I get full faster and longer I'm not always looking for food," she says.