The simple low-GI swaps you can make for better overall health this year

If you're trying to lose weight or just clean up your diet a little, it's pretty common to assume carbs are the enemy.

Whether it's pasta, rice, bread, or a delicious 3pm chocolate muffin, we've been taught to think that eating carbs is synonymous with weight gain.

But in reality, it isn't about cutting carbs – it's about switching to good carbs.

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You've probably heard about the importance of eating low-GI foods.

Good carbs are low GI carbs, such as legumes, wholegrain breads and cereals, nuts and seeds as well as cooked and cooled low-GI potatoes, pasta and rice.

Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist Rebecca Gawthorne recommends swapping to good carbs for a multitude of health benefits.

"A low-Gl diet can help you achieve and maintain your goal weight, fuel your brain with power, provide you with longer-lasting energy, improve your mood and help you achieve more at the gym," she says.

So how do you actually go about eating low-GI food?

What is The Glycemic Index?

The Glycemic Index is a tool that measures how carbohydrate foods affect our blood sugar (glucose) levels.

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Carbohydrates are an essential part of our diet as they provide energy for our brain, muscles and organs. However, not all carbohydrates affect our body in the same way.

Some carbohydrate foods cause a quick spike and drop in our blood sugar levels, providing us with short-lived energy, while other carbohydrate foods provide a steady rise in our blood sugar levels, giving us longer-lasting energy.

The GI measures the effect of carbohydrate foods on our blood sugar levels (calculated by international scientific testing) and ranks them on a scale of 1-100: low-GI (55 or less), mid-GI (56-69) and high-GI (70+).

Why follow a low GI diet?

Gawthorne says that a low-GI diet is an "easy and affordable way to help Australians live healthier lives."

"Low GI foods are slowly digested helping to keep blood glucose levels stable," she says.

"It has also been shown to help reduce cravings, achieve and maintain a healthy weight, and provide sustained energy levels to the brain to improve concentration, memory, and mood."

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How to eat low GI

Low GI eating does not mean going low carb or cutting out carbs. Instead, low GI eating is about focusing on "good" carbs – that is, low GI carbs. 

"For example, an ideal low-GI dinner would contain half a plate of vegetables or salad, a quarter of a plate of lean protein and a quarter of a plate of low-GI carbs," Gawthorne advises.

"It is simpler than you might think," says Gawthorne, who has shared her top tips for eating low-GI:

First, always look for the low-GI Symbol when shopping as foods that carry that symbol have been tested in a lab under rigorous guidelines and meet strict nutrient criteria.

Swap high-GI foods for low-GI choices: from soft white bread to dense whole grain or sourdough; refined cereals to rolled oats or natural muesli; white rice to low GI white or brown rice; water crackers to wholegrain crackers or nut and seed bars.

Finally, include legumes into your meals, such as lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, cannellini beans, and baked beans. They are excellent low-GI options that can be easily incorporated into salads, Bolognese, and casseroles.

There are also some simple hacks Gawthorne swears by.

• Cook pasta al dente to lower the GI of the pasta.
• Add vinegar, lemon/lime juice or pickles to your meal, as acid can lower the GI of your meal.
• Add olive oil or a healthy fat like avocado to your meals, as the presence of fat lowers the GI of your meals.
• Include a source of healthy protein with your meals – protein helps lower the GI of the meal.

If you're keen to start eating more low-GI foods, but don't know where to start, the Glycemic Index Foundation is holding a Love Good Carbs Challenge this February, with plenty of tips, swaps, and recipes to get you started.

It's free to sign up, and an easy way to get started.