The message is similar for overweight people of all ages: move around to expend more energy and swap takeaway foods for fresh fruit and vegetables.

One of the newer ways of looking at foods with a view to developing a healthy heart and weight reduction is by using the Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL)measurements.

WHAT IS GI?
It is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest GI's. The blood glucose response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually have low GI's.

SO WHAT?

• Low GI diets can help people lose weight
• Low GI diets can improve the body's sensitivity to insulin
• Low GI foods can help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise
• Low GI can improve diabetes control
• Low GI foods keep you feeling fuller for longer
• Low GI can prolong physical endurance

LOW GI = 55 or less

MEDIUM GI  =  56 - 69

HIGH GI = 70 or more

WHAT ABOUT CUSTARD APPLES?
In a Table originally published in the July 2002 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and now published in the 2003 edition of The New Glucose Revolution Professor Jennie Brand Miller and her associates at the University of Sydney, Australia (along with co-author Tomas Wolever of the University of Toronto) have listed 750 foods.

The result is Custard apple, raw, flesh only (Australia)    GI 54

WHAT IS GLYCEMIC LOAD?
Glycemic Load builds on the GI to provide a measure of total glycemic response to a food or meal

A GI value tells you how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar, and the GL tells you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food.

Knowing both GI and GL helps you understand a food's effect on blood sugar

Foods that have a low GL almost always have a low GI

LOW GL     =     10 or less

MEDIUM GL   =  11 - 19

HIGH GL      =    20 or more

WHAT ABOUT CUSTARD APPLES?
The result is Custard apple, raw, flesh only (Australia)     GL  10.2

HOW TO HAVE A LOW GI DIET

• use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
• use "grainy" breads made with whole seeds
• reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
• eat plenty of salad vegetables
• enjoy all types of fruit and vegetables

Look for further articles on custard apples and nutrition in coming newsletters.

Further information on GI and GL can be found at these sites

http://www.glycemicindex.com

http://www.diabetes.about.com/library/mendosagi/nmendosagi.htm