Eat REGULAR, BALANCED MEALS with CONTROLLED PORTIONS. Less food is better unless you are underweight or malnourished. Eat slowly and mindfully, Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.

Make EVERY MEAL SMARTLY BALANCED. The major macronutrient groups, carbohydrates, fat and protein with a carbs:fat:protein energy value distribution of approximately 50:30:20 to contribute optimally to your health.

VEGETABLES, LEGUMES and FRUIT should make up half of your food volume intake. (It also should fill half of your plate at every meal)

CARB SOURCES should mostly consist of SLOW DIGESTING CARBS and WHOLE GRAINS (low GI carbs, depending on your activity level and the timing of the meal).

Quality, lean, UNPROCESSED PROTEIN SOURCES are always preferable to processed, fatty protein sources.

FAT SOURCES that are rich in OMEGA-3 PUFAs and MUFAs should be SPECIFICALLY TARGETED, as should other foods that are high in VITAMINS, FIBRE and PHYTONUTRIENTS – these foods can make a major contribution to your health.

Have DAIRY PRODUCTS everyday.

FOCUS ON FRUIT and a few NUTS for snacks in between meals.

Avoid high kJ drinks, but rather drink WATER AND LOWER kJ BEVERAGES.

FITNESS is key and ACTIVITY is maximised with a daily goal of 30-60min.

If you consume ALCOHOL LIMIT CONSUMPTION to 1 drink a day.

Use SALT SPARINGLY and limit salty foods.

A plate of food should have half the volume filled with vegetables or salad, leaving one quarter for a serving of lean protein & the other quarter for a serving of whole grain lower GI starch. Include some healthy fat in every meal.

The SMART HEALTH DIET describes a BALANCED diet that is NUTRITIOUS and RISK FREE in every way, with SUSTAINABLE meal plans that all people and age groups can enjoy.

Vegetables

Potato, mashed, microwaved, roasted and salad. See STARCHES. Sweet potato, orange or white flesh, baked or cooked. See STARCHES. Sweet corn, fresh, frozen or tinned, cooked. See STARCHES. Vegetable soups. See MEALS.

GI	Name of product / food	GL	Unit	Mass (g)	Comments	GF
Low	Braai relish, tinned, Miami	<5	1/4 tin	100	Low glycemic response; calculated GL
Low	Tomato and onion mix, gourmet, tinned, Miami	<5	1/4 tin	100	Low glycemic response; calculated GL	GF
Low	Tomato, fresh	<5	1 medium	120		GF
Low	Carrots, raw	<5	2 med carrots	120	Australian GI	GF
Low	Asparagus, fresh and tinned	<5	8 spears	200	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Celery	<5	1 stick	40	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Cucumber	<5	1/4 English	125	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Lettuce, shredded	<5	1 cup	80	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Mushrooms, Denny (and others)	<5	1 cup	70	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Peppers, green, yellow, red, sweet	<5	half a pepper	80	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Radishes	<5	5	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Rocket leaves	<5	One handful	20	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Sauerkraut	<5	1/2 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Pickles	<5	1 medium	20	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Peppers, Jalapeno or Mediterranean	<5	5 peppers	50	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Aubergines	<5	1 medium	250	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Baby marrows or courgettes or Zucchini	<5	3	120	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Brinjals	<5	1 medium	250	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Broccoli	<5	1 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Brussel sprouts	<5	1 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Cabbage, shredded	<5	1 cup	80	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Cauliflower	<5	1 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Courgettes or baby marrows or Zucchini	<5	3	120	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Eggplant	<5	1 medium	250	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Gem squash	<5	1	80	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Kohlrabi	<5	1/2 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Marrows, baby	<5	1/2 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Okra (bhindi)	<5	3	75	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Onions	<5	1/2 medium	75	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Patty pans	<5	4	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Salad, tossed (lettuce, tomato,cucumber, pepper, carrot),	<5	1 cup	100	Estimated GI, no dressing	GF
Low	Spinach or Swiss chard, cooked	<5	1/2 cup	110	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Spinach, creamed (with cream)**	<5	1/2 cup	90	Estimated GI; high fat	GF
Low	Spring onions	<5	4 spr. onions	12	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Zucchini or courgettes or baby marrows	<5	3	120	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Artichokes	<5	1	90	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Coleslaw, commercial***	<10	1/2 cup	150	Estimated GI; very high fat
Low	Green beans, cooked	<5	1/2 cup	85	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Leeks	<5	1 leek	60	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Spinach, creamed (with white sauce)*	<5	1/2 cup	90	Estimated GI
Low	Waterblommetjies	<5	1 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Peas, green, fresh or frozen, cooked	<5	1/2 cup	90	Canadian GI	GF
Low	Beetroot, salad	<5	1/2 cup	100	Estimated GI	GF
Low	Peas and carrots, cooked	<5	1/2 cup	85	Calculated GI	GF
Low	Butternut, cooked	<5	1/2 cup	105	Australian GI	GF
Low	Hubbard squash (winter squash), cooked	<5	1/2 cup	105	Australian GI	GF
Low	Green beans, tinned	<5	1/2 cup	85	Australian GI	GF
Low	Carrots, cooked	<5	1/2 cup	80	World average GI	GF
Low	Snap or sugar peas or mange-tout or peas in pod, raw	<5	1/2 cup	80	Estimated GI	GF
Medium	Broad beans, frozen and microwaved	<5	1/2 cup	80	Australian GI	GF
Medium	Beetroot, cooked	<5	1 medium	90	Canadian GI	GF
Medium	Marog, imfino, wild spinach or beetroot leaves, cooked	<10	1/2 cup	110	Wild SA spinach	GF
High	Green beans, with potato*, cooked	<10	1/2 cup	100	Note the higher GL due to the potato	GF
High	Turnips, cooked	<10	1/2 cup	90	Note the low GL per serving	GF
High	Parsnips, cooked	>10	1/2 cup	90	Canadian & Australian GI average	GF
High	Pumpkin, cooked	<10	1/2 cup	105	Note the low GL per serving	GF

Get The South African Glycemic Index & Load Guide for comprehensive explanations, GI-lists, GL-values and the fibre, fat, protein and Kj-values.

A true Low GI food releases glucose slowly and steadily into the bloodstream without overstimulating the pancreas to produce too much insulin. A High GI food, on the other hand, causes a sudden, large increase in blood glucose, resulting to either hyperglycaemia in Diabetics or hypoglycaemia in hypoglycaemics. GI of Glucose = 100
One of the services that we render as the GI Foundation, is to determine the GI of food products. Food companies are welcome to contact us for more information.
The products marked by an * are high in fat.
GF – means gluten free.
GI Foundation SA Endorsed: The product comply with health specifications and are nutritious for healthy and diabetic persons.