The GI is the ranking of foods on a scale of 1 to 100 based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels.

▲Foods with a high GI are those that are broken down tosugar by the body quickly, leading to marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels
▼Foods with a low GI are those that slowly break down to sugar, leading to only gradual rises in blood sugar levels.Foods containing little or no carbohydrate (such as meat, fish, eggs, avocado, wine, beer, spirits & most vegetables) do not have a GI value. No carbs = no GI.

Here’s some examples of lower GI (lower than 50) foods to go for this festive season…

Fruit & Vegies - Carrots; Green Peas; Sweet corn; Cherries;
Plums; Oranges/Orange juice; Peaches Grapefruit;
Apples/Apple juice (unsweetened); Pear; Grapes (green)
Dairy Products - Milk (full fat or skim); Yoghurt (low fat, fruit);
Custard Legumes - Soy beans; Lentils (green, brown or red); Kidney
beans Pasta – Wheat pasta; Egg fettuccine; Vermicelli; Macaroni,
Tortellini; Spaghetti; Long grain white & brown rice

High GI foods (70 – 100)
Fruit & Vegies - Potatoes; Parsnips; Pumpkin; Watermelon
Breads - White bread (wheat flour); Rye; Wholegrain; Bagel;
Legumes – Broad beans; Lima beans
Pasta – Rice pasta; Sunbrown quick rice; Calrose shortgrain
rice; Instant cooked rice

To find out the GI of foods you enjoy eating, visit these very interesting websites; www.glycemicindex.com
www.healthyeatingclub.com/info/articles/diseases/glycaemic-table.htm