Making the most of meat

Meat only poses two possible threats, namely its visible fat and the fact that too much of any good thing is .... well, not much good. Eating too much meat means you are eating too much saturated fat, absorbing too many unwanted fat kilojoules and pushing your protein intake through the roof.

Enjoyed in moderation though, lean red meat (with all visible fat removed) is quite a bright star in the nutrient skies. It is rich in potassium, B vitamins, zinc and iron and an excellent source of protein. Served in small, lean portions with the addition of dietary fibre, red meat will enhance your health rather than harm it.

Fibre, as found in grains, dried beans and vegetables, helps to fight heart disease, digestive disorders and certain types of cancer. These foods, when served with meat, will assist your body in coping with the hidden fats in the meat. Fibre-rich foods will also help you feel satisfied faster and for longer - an excellent way in which to help you control your meat intake and so too, those unwanted fat kilojoules.

You can make some clever cuts in your meat consumption, and I am not referring to cutting it out. I mean buying and eating cuts that contain less of the hidden fats (often called the marble fat) and cholesterol-causing saturated fat. Be 'pound' wise and buy clever cuts. Those are the hind-quarter cuts such as fillet, rump, topside and leg of lamb. They contain the least hidden fats. However, even after the visible fat has been removed, you'd be surprised to know how much fat is hidden in what you deem 'pure' meat.

The cooking method also dictates how much fat you will eventually consume. Red meat actually loses weight during cooking or grilling on a rack, and depending on the period of time for which the meat is exposed to the heat, between 7 and 23% of the fat could drip away. That is provided of course you don't consume the pan drippings! With stews and casseroles, in which the fat becomes part of the sauce, no dripping away of fat takes place and it seeps into the cooking liquids. Those you end up eating by way of the gravy or a sauce. And needless to say, frying meat in fat or oil obviously adds even more fat (and unwanted) kilojoules to your unsuspecting body - rather a stupid thing to do if you want to be lean and healthy. So consider your cut and its cooking method with great care if you care about your weight.

Best of all course, is to go wild. it you enjoy red meat, 'have venison often. A very large serving of grilled game steak (300 g) will only add a humble 9,6 g of fat to your intake, whereas a similar serving of grilled beef steak (rump, fat removed) could add as much as 30 g of fat.

Similarly, if you enjoy poultry, be game for game. Ostrich, pheasant and quail are ultra-lean and 300 g of roast game will only provide you with about 10,5 g of fat. On the other hand, if you roasted (with the skin intact) and consumed its domesticated counterpart the chicken, the exact same size of serving will happily lay in the region of 39 g of fat on your body.

Be cautioned, though; game and venison tend to be dry - as a result of their low fat content - so don't defeat the whole object by adding buffer, oil, bacon, lard or cream to the dish. Use wine, fruit and stocks instead to moisten the meat. As for a sauce or gravy, the stock of game or venison is delightfully robust in flavour. Reduce your cooking liquid by boiling it rapidly with garlic, aromatic peppercorns and herbs until richly brown and thickened to your liking. A wiser, leaner and more nourishing bet than a creamy sauce, for sure.

Don't inhibit your^- nutrients

There is no point in trying to follow a healthy diet if you are not aware of the fact that the absorption of certain nutrients can be inhibited. In other words, their assimilation and uptake by the body can be hindered by some or other bad food combination with nutrient inhibitors.

The nutrients most at risk are calcium and iron. Thus, try not to consume calcium-rich foods with alcohol, high-fibre cereals or red meats - they restrict the absorption of calcium. This means for example, that it is not wise to combine cheese and wine or cereal and milk. Serve wine with low-fat meat, chicken, fish, fruit and vegetable snacks and your cereal with fruit juice instead of milk. Vitamin D, however, aids the absorption of calcium. As sunlight is an excellent way to improve your vitamin D levels, serve lean, fruity milkshakes around your pool instead of fruit juices. That way your body will benefit fully from your clever combinations.

The absorption of iron is hampered by the simultaneous intake of tea, red wine and high-fibre cereals, so don't serve, say, iron-rich liver with whole wheat bread or brown rice, Rather serve it with potatoes or white rice. On the other hand, foods rich in vitamin C assist in the absorption of non-heam iron (iron derived from vegetables), so combine those foods for optimum nutrition. For instance, a salad made from iron-rich spinach, vitamin C-rich tomatoes and sweet peppers would be an excellent choice for super-A nutrient absorption without any threat of inhibitors.

On dining out

American-style food has become the norm in our lives: burgers, sticky ribs, fried chicken, coleslaw, chips, fried onion rings, sodas and sundaes.

Do your body a favour and favour ethnic foods more than once in a while. Most countries' indigenous recipes conform to the food pyramid: high fibre, high carbohydrates, including vegetables, moderate protein and humble amounts of fat. Here are some examples for when next you eat out, or feel like entertaining at home:

Indian: Choose breads (naan and purl) and pulses (dhal), vegetarian curries and biryani (rice and a little meat). Avoid fatty lamb curries and coconut-milk desserts. Chinese: Choose soup, stir fry vegetables, steamed rice, cooked noodles, chow- mein, chop suey. Avoid deep fried sweet & sour dishes and bow ties.

Thai and Indonesian: Choose vegetables and seafood in broth, steamed vegetables and fish. Avoid deep fried dishes and curries made with coconut milk. Japanese: Choose sushi, sashimi (raw fish) and steamed or broth-cooked dishes. Avoid tempura and deep-fried ice cream. (True!)

Italian: Choose lightly dressed salads, minestrone, pasta with vegetable sauces, grilled veal with lemon, pizza breads and pizza with less cheese and salami, grilled fish and vegetables and sorbet and fruit for dessert. Beware of the antipasti tables - those delicacies are often swimming in oil: select from them with your head rather than with your heart. Avoid creamy sauces, cheesy pizzas and Italian ice cream.

The carbo consideration

As you know, certain slimming clinics and some diet doctors have vilified carbohydrates for decades. They claim that a low-carbo diet, rich in protein, will

Or improve your metabolism by forcing your body to release more growth hormones. This - the intake of mainly proteins - will ostensibly build more muscle tissue and in that way improve your metabolism forever. Forget it; its only a half-truth. The whole truth is that, in the absence of the energy the carbos are supposed to provide, your body will use up all the protein you eat as energy and after that, when more energy is required, which is invariably the case, it goes on to use some of its own protein as well. Remember those lean muscle cells? Those lovely little protein-filled cells that cause your metabolism to be energetic, vibrant and efficient. If you didn't have them, you would get fatter and fatter with each passing day. The bottom line? If you do not eat sufficient carbos for energy, it will promote chronic weight gain in the long run through the permanent loss of lean muscle tissue and very little, if any, real body fat will be lost.

Here's what you should consider when it comes to your carbo intake, so that in future you can manipulate it in such a manner that they actually work for you.

Simple carbohydrates are sugars like cane sugar, honey, fructose and glucose, Complex carbohydrates are starches like bread, pasta, dried beans and cereals.

• The only differences between sugar and starch are their taste, nutrient values and rate of absorption by the body.Once ingested, the body converts all carbohydrates to glucose.

• Complex carbohydrates with a low Glycaemic Index (GI) protect your body's muscle reserves by supplying the body with energy while promoting the burning of fat for extra energy. (See How low should you go?)

• Try to consume 60 to 65% of your daily kilojoules from complex carbohydrates, preferably those with a low GI. The eating plan conforms to this principle. Simply follow it and you won't need to do any calculations! Eventually, this kind of eating pattern will become a habit, and your preferred way of life,

• If you follow an eating plan rich in complex carbohydrates with a low GI, coupled with a low fat intake (around 33 g in total per day) your blood sugar levels will remain stable. You will enjoy a more naturally controlled appetite and greater emotional stability. The eating plan referred to is designed specifically with those factors in mind. Within days you will experience the full benefits of this way of eating. Your excess fat will start disappearing and you will have more energy than you ever thought possible, fewer mood swings, anxiety attacks, hunger pangs, sugar or starch cravings and you will start feeling optimistic and full of life.

• Be aware that the digestion of carbohydrates begins with the first bite. If you don't chew your complex carbohydrates well, efficient digestion will not take place, which can impede your body's fat burning mechanism.

Drink to your health vitality continue...

Liver & Gall Bladder Cleanser

Excellent for the morning after.

65 ml Daily Health Juice

45 ml beetroot juice (yes, raw beetroot, but peel it-the skin is very bitter) 65 ml cucumber juice

Diabetes or Cholesterol Juice

500 ml carrot juice

65 ml lemon juice (peel the lemon before extracting juice) 125 ml celery juice

180 ml onion tea (see below)

200 ml dried bean broth (see below)

125 ml lettuce juice

125 ml parsley tea (see below)

Mix the juices well and store in the freezer in 125 ml containers. Defrost at room temperature and drink 125 ml twice daily for effective cholesterol and blood sugar control. This quantity is sufficient for 5 to 6 days.

Dried Bean Broth

Soak a cup of dried beans overnight in cold water. Drain and cover with fresh water in a small saucepan. Simmer for an hour or so, until the beans are very tender, replenishing the water to keep the beans well covered. Stir from time to time. When cooked, season with pure herb salt (from health stores), strain, and use the broth in your juice. Enjoy the beans mashed with a little herb salt and olive oil - you've taken the trouble to cook them! Excellent for diabetes and cholesterol control.

Onion Tea

4 large onions, un-peeled but quartered

2 litres water

Bring the onions and water to the boil, reduce heat and simmer covered with a lid for 45 minutes. Remove from heat, mash the onions well - still inside the water - and allow to cool. Strain, pushing the pulp firmly against the sieve to extract as much juice as possible. Keep refrigerated or frozen in small quantities. Use as required. Excellent for cholesterol and blood sugar control.

Parsley Tea

1 litre water

1 bunch parsley

Briefly boil together the water and parsley. Allow to cool, then blend in your blender until smooth. Keep frozen in small quantities to use as required.

Juice for Glands

This juice is ideal for optimising glandular function,

65 ml Daily Health Juice

45 ml pineapple juice

30 ml beetroot juice

45 ml celery juice

125 ml onion tea

Juice for Hayfever

65 ml carrot juice

65 ml spinach juice 65 ml lettuce juice

65 ml cucumber juice 10 ml horseradish juice

(If you don't have fresh horseradish, stir 2,5 to 5 ml of pickled or creamed horseradish sauce into the juice before drinking.)

Drink to your health vitality

Beyond any shadow of a doubt, vegetable juices offer abundant health and longevity. Reams and reams of papers containing research data areavailable to prove that, with the right combinations and regular, sustained intake, these healthy liquids improve the condition of your body in leaps and bounds, and help cure a wide range of ailments.

The eating plan that follows, suggests that you drink two vegetable juices per day. These will depend on the availability of fresh produce and on the state of your health from time to time. The Daily Health Juice (recipe below) is for everyday consumption, and the recipes that follow are for specific ailments, as are the teas and broth of beans and onion.

As far as your weight loss is concerned, vegetable juice can help you achieve your goals far more readily and speedily than you ever thought possible. It regulates the appetite, improves your looks in general (cabbage and lettuce juice are excellent for hair and nails and carrots improve the skin) and it provides your body with loads of essential nutrients, minerals and tissue salts. Spinach is great for regularity and tomatoes keep your electrolytes (minerals required for a regular heartbeat) normal. Juices will cleanse and protect your body, which will not only improve your health, but also ensure that all your systems function at optimum efficiency, aiding efficient weight loss.

Vegetable juices are concentrated nutrients, especially mineral salts, so essential for glowing health. If the juices don't taste good, that's just too bad. Here I have to rely on the old adage: If it tastes this bad, it has to be good for me!"

Herbs can play an important part in improving your health, so here's a good way of consuming them: simply put them through the extractor together with your vegetables and they will release their health-promoting benefits directly into your vegetable juice. Ginger (excellent for digestion and to alleviate nausea) goes well with most yellow vegetables and parsley (beneficial as a kidney cleanser and diuretic) tastes divine in just about any combination. Buy a good herb book and read about all the specific benefits of herbs so that you can use them appropriately. That way you can truly have a medicinal pantry!

Daily Health Juice - large quantity

750 ml carrot juice

100 ml spinach juice

250 ml apple juice (or, when in season, grape juice)

50 ml lettuce juice

25 ml parsley juice

50 ml green bean juice

All juices must be freshly extracted, even the apple juice. Store in 5 small containers in the deep freeze. This is sufficient for 5 days' intake. Defrost at room temperature or in the fridge. Drink as indicated on the eating plan. Yes, some vitamins will be lost in the freezing process, but most of the fibre and minerals will remain completely intact.

Daily health juice - single portion

It is of course far better to enjoy your vegetable juices fresh - as fresh as can be, and usually chilled. Since standing tends to make the juices lose nutrients and taste bitter, have them as soon as extracted and use chilled vegetables to begin with. The bother of having to clean your machine is a small price tag for great health. And as for the pulp, it makes terrific compost. If you are really the prudent type, freeze the pulp and use it at a later stage in soups and stews.

1 large carrot

1 large spinach leaf

1 apple

2 lettuce leaves

10 sprigs parsley

4 green beans

Push everything through your juice extractor. The leaves are more manageable if you roll them into a little ball before pushing the funnel of your extractor through. Drink at once.

How Fresh is Fresh? (Freezing the freshness)

`Freezing the freshness in'

Freezing is one of the most commonly used methods and its big advantage is that it gives the consumer a year-round availability of what might be a short-season crop. In general, after cooking, most frozen food has the same nutritional value as the identical cooked product using fresh produce. Vegetables are harvested while vitamin C levels are still high and the delay incurred between harvesting and blanching is so short that there are negligible changes in nutritional quality.

A recent report from Britain (the Chipping Campden Report), evaluated fresh versus canned versus frozen peas and came up with some interesting results. For example, it was found that frozen peas do not lose protein, fat, fibre or iron through processing, storage or final cooking. Canned peas are produced from less tender peas and naturally have a slightly higher protein and fibre content. Processing had no effect on zinc levels, but both frozen and canned storage reduced these by about 25%. As regards calcium, cooked frozen peas have a higher level than cooked fresh ones, but they have only about half as much potassium - although this is not a cause for concern since potassium is present in many foods and a deficiency of it is very rare.

What about the all-important vitamin C? Cooked frozen peas have a slightly lower content than cooked, freshly picked ones, but more than cooked, fresh 7-day-old peas. The report concluded that the vitamin C level of cooked frozen peas was about equivalent to cooked fresh 3- to 4-day-old peas, probably about the age they would be if you bought them from your local supermarket for supper the next day. In other words, you can assume that frozen peas are not only convenient but nutritionally as worthwhile as the fresh variety - if somewhat more expensive. If we apply roughly the same results to most frozen vegetables, we can see straight away that they do provide us with a very good out-of-season option.

What's in a can?

Itis probably because frozen fruit and vegetables are raw and canned produce is cooked during the canning process that you may be more likely to regard the former as 'fresh' and the latter as 'processed'. Yet it is interesting that the nutritional value of freshly cooked produce differs very little from the canned variety. This is mainly because with canning, although the cooking period may be a little longer than for home-cooked vegetables, the fact that all air is excluded carries enormous nutritional advantage over our domestic cooking pots. By heating, which destroys any micro-organisms, and excluding air, food is preserved without additives. Apart from the fact that you may simply prefer the taste of fresh vegetables, the only disadvantage of the canned variety is that you don't have any say over the amount of salt and/or sugar added in the canning process.

Fresh from the sea

Fish is another popular frozen food and for many city and country dwellers who fancy something marine on the menu the frozen variety is really the only practical choice. Those who live near fishing ports and harbours (or have keen fisherfolk in the family) are lucky indeed as they will have the chance to enjoy that almost sweet, seaweedy flavour that is the hallmark of truly fresh fish. For the rest of us, frozen fish from one of the big producers is a very acceptable alternative. The fish is caught out at sea and either frozen almost instantly on the fishing vessel itself, or else packed on ice and frozen as soon as it is landed. In this way, optimum nutritional content is maintained and flavour impairment kept to a minimum.

If you are lucky enough to buy fresh fish, check whether it really is fresh, or has been shipped in a frozen state and then defrosted to be laid out on a slab in the supermarket. There's no major difference if you are going to eat it straight away, but if you intend to refreeze it for later use, you would do better to buy commercially frozen fish instead. Not only will the flavour and texture be better, but you will avoid the risk of deterioration attached to freezing, thawing and then refreezingfood.

As with vegetables, most of us would probably like to buy our fish fresh but if you have to settle for frozen, as a bonus you'll be getting consistently high quality. In the case of fresh fish, quality may be erratic, all the more so the further away you are from the maindistribution centres.

How Fresh is Fresh? (The date-stamping option)

Date-stamping may be one way out of the 'how fresh?' dilemma but this poses problems of its own. In addition to the higher cost incurred in wrapping the vegetables so they can carry a date, weight and price label, there's also the environmental factor. With concern mounting over the cost, both ecologically and economically, of wrapping (and then disposing of this wrapping), it may well be wiser to welcome a trend away from this type of labelling. However, there would be nothing ecologically harmful about enterprising supermarkets displaying point-of-sale boards above loose piles of vegetables, advising the shopper of exactly when the produce came into the store. In the absence of such public-spiritedness, however, most shoppers will simply have to go on relying on their own judgement.

Commonsense aside, the message for the consumer couldn't be clearer: If the fruit and vegetables in your local store leave a lot to be desired, the store manager is the one to tell. And if things don't improve, do what every consumer group in the country repeatedly advises - complain to the head office and/or vote with your feet. In other words, take your custom to another branch, or check up on the competition.

As regards the other examples of foodstuffs that we think of as fresh (such as milk, eggs, meat and fish), stringent government controls coupled with sophisticated distribution methods ensure quick transfer from producer to consumer. Meat, milk and fish produce is invariably shipped under refrigeration and some stores have in-store fish sections that can virtually promise a 24-hour service. Checkers stores in Johannesburg often have fish on the slab that has been landed early that same morning, then flown straight to the city, while coastal stores offer the same service but with a little less effort!

When it comes to eggs, smaller retailers may have a slight advantage over the larger chains. For example at a country Spar store, eggs come direct from the farm so they are only a day or two old at the most, but most larger urban stores are only a day or so behind on average.

Having examined the question of freshness, we should also consider the other side of the coin - the methods of preserving our foods that give us almost the same benefits as very fresh produce and often higher benefits than the not-so-fresh variety.

The GI of food: How low should you go? continue...

Insulin and carbohydrates

Your pancreas produces the hormone insulin. Of all foods, carbohydrates stimulate the secretion of insulin most.

Eating carbohydrates with a low GI causes slow absorption of the food and so, slow entry of glucose into the bloodstream, with a gentler rise and fall in the curve. This means that the pancreas is not over-taxed and can produce less, and more consistent levels of insulin.

To recap briefly on what was said in What's wrong with sugar and starch?: if the pancreas is over-stimulated for long periods of time, because of mostly eating foods with a high GI (such as refined starch and sugar), it may become exhausted and insulin resistance or even type II diabetes could develop. Even if they do not cause diabetes, high (and unnecessary!) insulin levels are undesirable and dangerous. And similarly, high glucose levels in the blood are as dangerous. And we know for a fact that it seriously affects your body fat percentage!

It is sensible to know and understand and to remember when next you crave foods with a high GI (such as bread or refined sugar) that insulin plays a direct part in how your food is metabolised. It also determines whether your body will burn fat or carbohydrate to meet your energy needs. And finally, it determines what your body will do with the available energy in your blood - use it, or store it as body fat.

If you can't go low, go without

Which means go without the fatty topping or other additions to the carbohydrates. By now we all know, GI aside, that what we odd to our carbohydrates is usually what adds to our weight. And by now we also know that carbohydrates - either sugar or starch - don't taste as good without those little additions. They require that 'little something' to make them more palatable: cream with the pasta, gravy on the rice, butter on bread, cheese on pizza and of course dollops of cream on meringues. These succulent little extras not only make the food taste more delicious, which makes us eat more of it, but the fat also aids excessive fat gain.

Go slow, go low!

Believe this: if you can control your food intake in such a way that you eat mostly low GI carbohydrates, your weight will decrease steadily and rather satisfyingly. Your health will improve and your moods will be better. You will have fewer mood swings and you will feel less exhausted. Your appetite won't get out of hand and you won't have those dangerous food cravings. You will enjoy a better quality of life for longer and have the energy with which to enjoy it!

These are not unfounded claims - they are provable and based on scientific trials, conducted worldwide by independent universities and medical authorities.

The magical benefits of low GI foods were discovered when clinical trials proved that the GI of food influences the rate at which animals gain body fat and develop abnormalities in insulin secretion. These trials were extended to humans and proved how the GI of food influences sport performance and appetite control. From there it expanded into lifestyle improvement and more effective body weight control and thus the GI revolution was born. It changed the way in which millions of dieters selected and ate their food. It also changed their body weights for life - downwards!

Yet, it is not always possible to avoid the foods we love; and as far as I'm concerned, it isn't advisable either. We are sensual beings and to ignore or not to respect the cravings for foods that please us sensually, is a sure way of falling back into those old habits of bread and honey and chocolates and all the other high GI foods.

The answer is therefore to combine your foods wisely. One can have high GI bread, topped with low GI cooked beans or humus. At breakfast time, for instance, one can have low GI oats with high GI toast to follow, Combined, the overall GI will be lower than simply having toast with jam and cheese or wheat cereal and toast.

The GI of food: How low should you go?

Just as all kilojoules are not equal, so all carbohydrates are not equal. Extensive and in-depth clinical trials and studies over the past decade or so have brought about what has become known as The Glucose Revolution, which also happens to be the title of a world best-selling book by Australians Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, Kay Foster-Powel and Dr Anthony Leeds.

Carbohydrates always used to be regarded as the main reason for obesity. Regrettably that theory has remained stuck in the minds of many people in the medical profession and slimming industry and to this day many dieters are following low-carbohydrate diets - much to their detriment, as you know.

Well, here is what every dieter should know about starch: forget all that tripe you were taught and start eating your starches, but eat them wisely. Eat mainly starches with a low GI (Glycaernic Index).

The GI of food indicates the way it scores according to its effect on your blood sugar levels. Carbohydrate foods that are rapidly converted to glucose during the digestive process and therefore rapidly increase your blood sugar (glycogen) levels, have high GI values. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, naturally release their glucose into the bloodstream at a slower rate, therefore raising blood sugar levels at a slower rate. At the school we call this the 'carbo speedometer'. Of all foods, refined sugar (sucrose) and glucose have the highest GI, namely 100. All other foods are rated on a scale from 0 to 100 according to their effect on the blood sugar levels, or to put it plainly, the rate at which they drip into your bloodstream.

Much has been said about the incredible weight-loss benefits of the so-called Mediterranean diet. The popular belief is that it works so well because of the good fats found mainly in the olives and the oily fish prescribed in this diet. Yes, that is true. However, the other main reason for its success seems to have been overlooked. In fact, it is probably the most important reason why it is such an effective, healthy and delicious diet - it also offers loads of (and mainly) low GI starches. That includes beans, pulses and pasta to name but a few, Paradoxically, the one flaw in this diet is the fat: too much of the 'good' fat can make you as fat as bad fat does. And on this diet you are allowed to consume far too much of that lovely good fat! Just think of those tables groaning with tappas and antipasti.

That diet aside, following a low GI eating plan will, in my opinion, be the very best you can do for your weight loss efforts, mainly because of the way in which you are able to manipulate and control your blood sugar levels and consequent insulin production.

The main benefits of low CI foods

• They cause a gradual rise and fall in blood sugar levels, thereby causing lower insulin levels, which makes it easier for fat to be burnt and less likely to be stored.
• They assist in lowering blood fats.
• They are more bulky and are therefore more satisfying.
• They reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

How do you determine the GI of FOOD?

There are no exact GI values available. In order to arrive at the average GI value of specific foods, various repetitive tests are done. Volunteers involved in the tests are exposed to six stages of testing. One might therefore find the values to differ somewhat from one reference source to another. I have used various sources, which makes the list below as representative of those averages as possible. But in general, the steps listed here are the most commonly used way in which the GI of food is determined.

During a test, a sample of blood is taken from a person who does not have diabetes and then he/she is asked to eat an amount of food containing 50 g of carbohydrate. (As a mailer of interest, that amount of carbohydrate is equivalent to 45 ml of pure glucose powder.) A 200 g portion of cooked spaghetti, for instance, will provide 50 g of carbohydrate, equal to 45 g of pure glucose.

During the first hour after the consumption of the carbohydrates, a sample of blood is taken every 15 minutes and for the following hour, every 30 minutes. The blood is analysed and blood sugar levels are measured and recorded in a laboratory. These levels are plotted on a graph, which will indicate the rate at which they rise.

The volunteer's blood sugar response to each particular kind of food is measured against the response to 50 g of pure glucose -the reference food.

The reference food is tested similarly on two or three separate occasions on the same person and from those readings an individual average value is calculated. This is done to minimise the effect of any daily variation in blood sugar responses.

The same tests are carried out on 8 to 10 different people, using the same kind of food as reference. Thereafter the overall average GI of that particular food is calculated.

Following is a list of the average GI values of our most popular and commonly eaten carbohydrates, to be used as a guide. Although all foods have GI values, those of carbohydrates are what affect us most; more so than protein, fat or dairy products and for that matter, most low-carbohydrate vegetables. Those foods in general have very low GI values and I see no point in including them on the list.

Experts advise that it is best to eat those carbohydrates with a GI below 55 at least 80% of the time. The list is therefore in ascending order to make your choices easier.

What is worth knowing at this point is that although a combination of certain foods can lower the overall GI of a meal or a snack, fat remains the danger zone for your weight and your health. Eating a croissant, for instance, will result in a slower rise of your blood sugar than any other kind of wheat-based bread, because the croissant contains loads of butter, which slows down the GI of the wheat flour, whereas ordinary bread does not contain much fat. Similarly, eating a fat-free baked potato will produce a faster rise in blood sugar levels than fat-rich potato crisps or chips would. But in these instances the harm done by the fat literally outweighs the lower GI and unfortunately the fat that goes with the croissant and the chips will soon attach itself to your hips, rendering your careful plans to eat low GI foods utterly fruitless.

The ideal way is to eat mostly low GI foods with a low fat content. That will slim you down faster than any diet you've ever been on Guaranteed.

Unlike the popular myth that fruit makes you fat because of its sweetness, fruit in general actually has a low GI value. It therefore combines well with high GI cereals. Although fruit is sweet, it contains fructose - pure fruit sugar. Compared to sucrose (refined sugar), it is the preferred sugar when you want to slim and be healthy. I urge you to use fructose in all your beverages and foods that need sweetening. It has a low GI value and is all round much better for your health than sucrose. You can buy it from most chemists, health stores and supermarkets (where you will find it on the sugar or health product shelves). If your local suppliers don't stock it, ask them to order it for you. Demerara (raw) sugar is your natural second choice. The latter resists heat better than fructose does, so its ideal for baking. However, demerara also has a GI of 100, so use it as the exception rather than the rule.

Dairy products in general have low GI values (artificially sweetened, low-fat yoghurt has a GI of 14) and so they combine well with high GI breads and cereals to slow down the overall rate of such a meal or snack. A good example of this kind of combination would be white bread with fat-free cottage cheese, tomato and herbs. The overall GI of that snack will be lower, and so -thank goodness -will be the fat content. If you added butter and/or cheddar cheese to the bread, you would also slow down the overall GI, but at the expense of your fat intake and your weight loss efforts,

Vegetables and protein foods such as meat, fish and chicken also have generally lower GI values. They therefore combine well with high GI carbohydrates in order to reduce the overall GI value of the meal in which they are combined.

But remember, foods that slow down the overall GI of a meal do not justify an overload of fat. Which means that fat, oil, fatty meat, buffer, cream cheese and solid cheeses such as cheddar remain firmly within the 'be cautious' zone!