GI for Jane, but Not John

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

Celebs like Kylie Minogue and Jodie Kidd are fans of the low glycaemic index diet to help keep them slim – and it seems they’re actually doing the right thing.

A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports the idea that basing our diets on low glycaemic index foods really does help to prevent the pounds from piling on.

Danish researchers looked at the diets and health of almost 400 adults over a six-year period. They discovered diets that included lots of high glycaemic index foods were associated with increases in body weight, body fat and waist circumference in women, especially those who led sedentary lives and did little exercise. Surprisingly though, there were no differences in men.

WLR says:

This study doesn’t reveal any great surprises but simply confirms what health experts have known for some time.

Eating a diet that contains a lot of high GI foods tends to send blood sugar levels on a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows, with the lows causing hunger and cravings for carbs. More often than not, we succumb to these cravings and end up overeating – and it’s this that causes the pounds to pile on and our waistlines to expand.

In contrast, a diet that’s packed with low glycaemic index foods, keeps blood sugar levels steady, helping to prevent hunger and cravings.

It’s unclear why no relationship was found between a high GI diet and weight gain in men. It would seem though that the men, on average, continued to eat the right amount of calories to maintain their weight, despite consuming high GI foods. Obviously more research is needed to investigate this. In the meantime, you can get more information on the GI diet.