Guidelines

Aim to eat a well balanced healthy diet based on a variety of foods. A healthy diet should consist of a mix of carbohydrate rich foods. You should try and increase your intake of low GI foods, such as whole-grain breads, pasta, brown rice, wholegrain breakfast cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables. 

Consumer Confusion

The current system also implies that foods with a high GI have no other nutritional benefits. Bread is a low fat, highly nutritious food packed with B-vitamins, calcium and iron. According to GI tables, food like bread, broad beans, carrots, bananas and most fruits are all high GI foods. On the basis of this one measurement - these foods would be labeled as 'unhealthy' and avoided. In light of the recent Department of Health 5 a day campaign -this would be nutritional disaster. If consumers are still confused about basic weight loss messages can we really expect them to understand the many complexities and flaws of the GI system? We currently need more reliable data and reproducible results before we adopt this system.