Diet details

A GI diet prescribes meals primarily of foods that have low values. Examples of foods with low, middle and high GI values include the following:

• Low GI: Green vegetables, most fruits, raw carrots, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils and bran breakfast cereals
• Medium GI: Sweet corn, bananas, raw pineapple, raisins, oat breakfast cereals, and multigrain, oat bran or rye bread
• High GI: White rice, white bread and potatoes

Commercial GI diets may describe foods as having slow carbs or fast carbs. In general, foods with a low GI value are digested and absorbed relatively slowly, and those with high values are absorbed quickly.

Commercial GI diets have varying recommendations for portion size, as well as protein and fat consumption.