For a long time we dismissed the GI Factor as the latest fad from those nutty live-by-the-book dietitians. But once you wade through all the tables of figures and bizarre theories, maybe the GI Factor could be useful. Well, what the hell is it?

The GI Factor is a method of ranking foods in terms of how fast they cause our blood glucose levels to rise and fall. It really shows how fast foods can be digested and converted into energy. It is measured relative to pure glucose, which is given a value of 100. The actual numbers tend to just complicate the whole matter so people generally talk in terms of low GI foods, and high GI foods.

Low GI foods (less than 55)

• Make blood sugar levels rise slowly and remain in our system for a long period of time.
• Good to have as main meals or before exercise.
• Foods with large particles that our bodies take a long time to digest and hence release their energy slowly: lentils, soy beans, cherries, yoghurt, oats, pasta, grainy breads.
• All dairy products have a low GI. A glass of milk before bed, like Nana says, will provide a slow release of energy and might avoid those overnight hypos.

High GI foods (more than 70)

• Make blood sugars rise & fall rapidly.
• Good for hypos!
• Small particles that are digested and start providing energy quickly: coco pops, jelly beans, white breads and potato.
• Fruit juices have a medium GI so are not very good hypo fixes. 
• Foods vary greatly by variety ie: dark rye & wonderwhite breads have a very high GI factor (86, 80), while Burgen soy & linseed bread has a very low GI (19).
• Baked potatoes have a high GI of 85 - not far off glucose! 
• Rice, although a complex carbohydrate, actually has a high GI. Basmati rice is the lowest choice.

How to switch to a low GI Diet:

If you want to get into the GI, it's really about choices like knowing that blood sugars will fluctuate less by having multigrain instead of white bread, pasta and legumes instead of calrose rice, All-Bran instead of Coco Pops.

The main things to concentrate on if you'd like to go low GI are:

• Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
• Use 'grainy' breads made with whole seeds
• Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat (Substitute sweet potato which has much lower GI)
• Enjoy all types of fruit and vegetables (except potatoes).

For more information visit www.glycemicindex.com or check out: The Pocket Guide to the GI Factor for People with Diabetes. Some low GI cookbooks are listed in the books and websites page.