Not All Carbs Are Created Equal!

Low-carb dieting has been around for a while. We’ve had the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet and many offshoots and variations. Why do people like low-carbohydrate diets? Because they work. However not all carbs are created equal! Researchers have discovered the GI (Glycemic Index) measures the speed at which foods are broken down by the body to form glucose, the body’s source of energy. High GI foods break down quickly and leave you looking for the next food fix. Low GI foods break down more slowly and leave you feeling fuller, longer. It is these low GI carbs that we can consider “good carbs”.

The benefits of substituting the High GI carbs in our diet with Low GI carbs are:

+ You will feel fuller for longer.

+ It will reduce food cravings.

+ It will reduce snacking.

+ It will help control your weight.

+ You will be healthier overall!

Most High GI foods such as those made from white flour are heavily processed where the essential nutrients have been stripped away. Conversely, Low GI foods are rich in nutrients essential for your good health.

But this isn’t a scientific perspective I am presenting here – rather, a practical one for those of us who want to shed a few pounds and eat for good health at the same time. Some eating habits are so ingrained that it may be hard to imagine eating bangers without mash, or certain dishes without rice. Here are some suggested substitutes that our family actually now prefers to their High GI alternatives!

Mashed Potatoes become Haricot Bean Mash – loads quicker to prepare too!

HARICOT BEAN MASH

· 2 x 400g cans haricot beans, drained & rinsed

· 200 ml vegetable stock

· 2 tbsp light creme fraiche

· 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Place the haricot beans and stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmmer for 10 minutes, then drain. Very lightly mash the beans together and mix in the remaining ingredients.

Rice. There is no such thing as Low GI rice. If you just can’t give up rice, the general rule of thumb is that once drained, the stickier it is, the worse it is for you. Brown rice, basmati or wild rice are less sticky. Even better is to substitute it for low GI bulgar wheat. Bulgar wheat only needs to steep in boiling water for 30 minutes before draining – it really is that simple and it tastes great! The more fibre a bread contains, the lower the GI. In order of those that break down slowest and fill you up for longer:

· Soya bread

· Granary

· Rye bread

· Fruit bread

If you want to try cutting out bread altogether, try your sandwich ingredients on rye crispbreads.

Eating the right kind of breakfast will prevent hunger pangs and the temptation to reach out for a mid-morning snack. The best choices for breakfast cereals are bran cereals and porridge oats. But the bran must be noodle shaped – turning bran into a flake raises its GI. Porridge oats should be traditional as opposed to instant. Add some fresh blackberries or strawberries as part of your 5 a day fruit quota – plus, it makes a relatively dull breakfast far more appealing!

At a glance, here are a list of Low GI carbohydrates:

Breads: Granary breads and rolls, barley breads, rye or pumpernickel bread with grains, soya bread

Cereals: Bran strands, porridge

Grains: Barley, bulgar wheat, buckwheat, quinoa

Pasta & Noodles: Egg noodles or glass noodles

Potatoes: New potatoes, sweet potatoes (yams)

Rice: There are no Low GI rices

Savoury Snacks: Nuts and seeds, oat cakes.

For those of us watching our weight and still eating carbs, some of these tips just might be the missing link to losing those last few pounds or breaking through that weight loss plateau. And the bonus is that being even just a little GI conscious can have a magnitude of health benefits for all the family!

Aradia B&H UK