GI Diet

When I first heard the name GI diet, I thought it was something like a boot camp or some army training program. Well, no, it turns out to be pretty much the opposite of a strict diet, and this is one that just about anyone can make fit their tastes.

The GI in GI Diet stands for Glycemic Index, which is a way of classifying carbohydrates according to the effect they have on blood sugar. It was discovered in 1981 by a professor of nutrition called Dr David Jenkins that not all carbohydrates act in the same way in the digestive system. Some are digested quickly and cause rapid and short lived rises in blood sugar, while others break down slowly and provide a much more stable source of glucose for the body.
The result is that the high glycemic index foods, which cause blood sugar to yo yo, can make keeping stable weight much more difficult, as the body craves more glucose in response to the short lived high they provide.

Many dietitians have developed GI diet plans, with one of the most popular being Rick Gallop's version, which is probably one of the best of the bunch. The basic idea is to cut out the high GI index foods, which tend to be highly refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice and cornflakes, and replace them with foods like lentils, yoghurt and wholemeal bread.
The change over to low GI foods should reduce food cravings and binge eating, but isnt enough in itself to bring about rapid loss of weight.Therefore most of the GI diet plans also recommend ideal portion sizes and restrict calories to a certain extent. Rick Gallops plan, for instance, uses a plate divided into portions to regulate amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates eaten.

So is this another fad diet trick, or can it help? There are several good points to this diet. Firstly, it isnt restrictive in the way that the Atkins or South Beach diets can be. Secondly, it recommends cutting back on foods that all doctors and health experts today agree are undesirable, and promotes eating more fiber rich foods which are naturally low in the GI index.
HOWEVER- there are several problems with the GI Index as a guide to good carbohydrates. Carbs mixed with fats and proteins are lower in the GI scale, which means that, absurdly, french fries high in calories and fat content are lower than jacket potatoes. Also, nutritionists point out that in a meal, several types of food are eaten at once, so that the GI value of the meal as a whole, and not of each food should be calculated.
Unfortunately, this is pretty hard to do, so we are left with a bit of a hole in our theory. Nevertheless, it does seem that low GI foods have been recognised as more valuable for generations, as the well known sayings that ' lentil soup sticks to your ribs', and 'porridge keeps your stomach warm' show.

So, this is a diet that can probably help you to lose weight fairly healthily, as long as you use good judgement and common sense as well. The basic idea of eating less refined foods and less sugar is obviously a good one, and the emphasis on fresh vegetables and to a lesser degree fruits is nutritionally sound and will ensure good amounts of vitamins in the diet.
Vitamins, which are often not taken into account on many diet plans, can radically influence weight loss since they take part in many enzymatic processes and affect cell functions. The GI diet should have you bursting with vitamins, since most raw vegetables are low GI foods, so whether you lose weight or not, you should feel better!