Hey, have you heard of the glycemic index (GI)?

Well it's like this. When you eat some carbohydrates like bread, your blood sugar goes up. If you eat bread that melts in your mouth like fluffy white bread, the blood sugar goes up more and more quickly.

So what!

Well, the nice fluffy white bread causes the body to produce lots of insulin to burn up the sugar. Insulin puts on weight and too much can clog up the pipes around your heart. So lower GI carbs are less fattening and healthier - plus the bonus is that they fill you up so you don't want to eat too much.

So shouldn't one eat bread?

You can, but go for bread that has more grain in it and is heavier. This is the bread with a low GI meaning that the insulin surge is less and it is therefore a healthier choice.

Yeah but the problem is the grainy bread is more expensive.

Maybe, but if the grainy bread is more filling you will eat less of it, making it money neutral and maybe cheaper.

Yeah but the kids won't eat that stodgy stuff.

Well they might if everyone else in the house is eating it and they are hungry and that's the only bread on offer - it's surpsing how quickly they adapt.

By the way, sweet potatoes and new spuds have a lower GI than ordinary spuds - so go for them. Also, Basmati and Doongara rice has a lower GI than ordinary white rice.

Carbs are good for you and if you want to know more about the GI index buy a pocket book - 'The Glucose Revolution' by Jennie Brand Miller - get the weight loss version or diabetes version if you are diabetic.


Dr Andrew Binns