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Will char kway teow lead to sugar spike? An upcoming Glycemic Index of Asian food will help public plan their diets. Each time Ms Juliana Lim goes grocery shopping, she lingers longer than most patrons along supermarket aisles. That is because she has to decipher the Glycemic Index (GI) of foodstuff from its fibre, sugar and fat content. For the last two decades, the diabetic has been sticking to a low GI diet because spikes in her sugar levels will make her tired at work. The GI is a measure of how quickly carbohydrate-containing food raises a person's blood glucose level. "But choosing low GI food has not been easy as its information is not readily available on the Internet or food labels," said the 44-year-old executive. WHAT IS THE GLYCEMIC INDEX? THE Glycemic Index, or GI, is a scale which measures how much a food containing carbohydrates raises blood glucose levels. Foods with a higher GI, such as white bread, can cause rapid spikes in blood sugar levels. Those with a lower GI, such as whole oats, are digested more slowly, causing more gradual and smaller changes in blood sugar levels. GI is computed on a scale of zero to 100. Foods with low GI register a value of 55 and below, medium GI ranges from 56 to 69 and high GI means 70 and above. Low GI foods include dried beans and legumes such as kidney beans and lentils, green leafy vegetables, most fruit, and many wholegrain breads and cereals. Fat and fibre tend to lower the GI of a food and generally, the more cooked or processed a food, the higher its GI. Knowing the GI values of food can help with better planning for a healthy diet. Research has shown that a low GI diet can help prevent heart disease and diabetes, control cholesterol levels and maintain a healthy weight. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/will-char-kway-teow-lead-sugar-spike-20131118 Full Article: http://www-as.tp.edu.sg/gifoods.pdf