What's The GO With Low GI?
June 30th 2023 By Margaret Artist, APD
We see claims on packaged foods about the food being “Low GI”, implying that this quality is a good thing. Such claims are made with starchy foods – carbohydrates. So what does it mean and how would you even know if it was true?
Australia’s food labelling laws are extremely specific in terms of helping consumers. If the packaging does not claim a direct food-health benefit such as the examples “low GI” or “lower GI”, then these laws do not help you. In this way food packaging just has to suggest a benefit or use some key words that you may hear in the media and they do not have to prove anything. Then you do the work for them by guessing there may be a health benefit. Food marketing is a savvy game playing on our minds.
However, if the packaging did claim a food-health benefit, such as “this food is Low GI which results in lower blood sugars” then the food labelling laws apply, and the manufacturer would have to prove their health claim.
GI stands for glycaemic index. A food tested for the GI by a laboratory under specified conditions. A food is described as having a low GI quality when healthy adults ate the food and their blood sugar responses were 55 or lower, two hours after consuming the food. The glycemic index is a ranking of foods tested. Foods are either low or high. The glycaemic index was developed by nutrition researchers and contributed to by researchers around the world. It is backed by numerous scientific papers.
You would be hard pressed to find a food labelled as high GI. This is because these foods tend to increase the blood sugar response in healthy adults. Your body must work harder to regulate high blood sugars. Over time this hard work may wane and your immune, appetite, hormone, and mood systems go out of whack or become dys-regulated.
Another complexity is that food manufacturers or producers may get the food tested and not tell consumers, even if the result is good. Choosing to get a food tested for the human GI response is up to the manufacturer and is not mandatory.
You may wish to check if a food is low GI. A reference book used to be published for Australians, The low GI Shopper’s Guide, but this publication has ceased years ago. The international database of all foods tested for the GI response is not consumer friendly and food formulations and properties change over time. Read more on the University of Sydney’s GI newsletter GI News – Glycemic Index .
Low GI properties can change over time by a plant variety or by a manufacturer’s change in formulation or processing. An interesting example of this is the humble potato. Most studies of varieties of potato all around the world found that they are high GI. Some varieties in Australia were low GI; the Nadine, Nicola, Carisma and the GI Liscous. However, the Carisma potato has changed through natural variation such that it was no longer reliably 55 or below when re-tested. In recent years potatoes labelled “lower carb” arrived in the supermarket, but this does not mean that these potatoes are low GI. Without testing we simply do not know.
Confusing right?
Well, it gets a little more complex than food claims on starchy – carbohydrate foods. In life we don’t just eat carbohydrate foods, we eat a meal. The blood sugar response to a meal is influenced by numerous factors; fibres, protein, fat, cooking methods, total amount of carbohydrate at that meal, time since your last meal and even some condiments! Our bodies are amazing and complex.
If you have a health condition that requires you to manage your blood sugars such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, poly-cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, or heart disease then see a one of our friendly and informative dietitians at Bright Diets to help you navigate your whole diet and to get on with living your life.
This month we are also hosting our popular Eating For Your Best Blood Sugar Level Management Workshop. So bring your family, partner or friends to find out more about getting back control of your BSL's and your life!