Interview with a Glycemic Index expert
Interview with an Expert on the Glycemic Index
I was lucky enough to be able to talk to Professor Jennie Brand-Miller from the University of Sydney, who is one of the foremost experts on the Glycemic Index. Jennie and her team are responsible for the testing and rating of carbohydrate foods on the GI scale, a reliable, scientific method of measuring a food’s effect on blood glucose levels.
The success I have had is mainly due to the low GI diet – which is a balanced, nutritious way of eating for everyone, but of particular benefit to anyone who is insulin resistant, as it was initially developed for diabetics. The key is not eliminating carbohydrates completely from the diet (which works, but is difficult to sustain), but rather in making wise choices when it comes to carbohydrates. The Glycemic Index helps us to make these choices by identifying which carbohydrate food sources are digested and absorbed more slowly, which make us feel fuller and more satisfied for longer.
The following is a small excerpt from the full interview (taken from my program at reverseinsulinresistance.com).
Jennie Brand-Miller interview preview
My 10 year old has been diagonised with insulin resistance I have found books to help educate myself. Is there anything I can get for my daughter to read that she will understand? I am divorced and her mother has just been evaluated as having below average cognitive abilities, very concrete in her thinking and not pshyicologicly minded. I only have the girls for 24% of the time and cannot get mum to set any boundaries so my only way is educating both girls.
Please help
Regards
Darryl
I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to respond to your comment. The reason is because I really don’t know how to advise you. Insulin resistance is difficult enough to explain to adults, and I don’t know of any specific material that would help children to understand it.
Unfortunately you can’t control what their mother does or how she feeds them. The best thing you can do is make them aware, every time you’re with them, of the dangers of sugary and starchy food. If your 10 year old has actually been diagnosed, you can tell her how lucky she is that she found this out now. She can learn how to make sure she never gets really sick! And maybe she will exercise her own judgement when she isn’t in your care.
I am sorry if this doesn’t really answer your question. I am not an expert, I’m just someone who got the diagnosis myself and did the research.