Broker banking on the GI diet

A FORMER City banker will open London's first GI diet sandwich shop tomorrow.

Viki Cornish hopes to cash in on enthusiasm for the slimmers' regime that has swept the country since medical scares caused the popularity of the Atkins diet to wane.

The former Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch broker has banned white bread, butter, mayonnaise and refined sugar from the menu at Energi Box. Instead she will serve up granary sourdough baps filled with pesto, humous, mustard and oil-based dressings - all foods that are said to hold blood sugar levels steady and stop hunger pangs.

The 28-year-old said: 'When I worked in the City there was nothing healthy that I could just grab and eat. I ended up lunching on the usual High Street sandwiches but spending hours at a desk, I was lacking in energy. I wanted to offer a healthy alternative based around the GI diet.'

Ms Cornish's Philpot Lane shop sells all the usual sandwich fillings - crayfish and rocket, turkey and cranberry and cheddar and pickle - but uses lower GI ingredients than her high-street competitors.

Her shop will also sell salads filled with low GI food, including basmati rice, pasta and beans.

Soups and side orders, such as mini mushroom burgers, spicy lentil croquettes and couscous, are also on offer while crispy apple slices replace crisps.

Ms Cornish added: 'A lot of the menu is the same as you will see elsewhere but the ingredients are healthier.'

Energi Box will open at 7am to tap in to the breakfast trade, with decaffeinated coffee, porridge and muesli-compote yoghurts on offer.

THE GI DIET: WHAT'S ALLOWED

? The GI diet is based on a food's glycaemic index rating - how quickly it breaks down from carbohydrate to sugar in the bloodstream.

? It rates GI points from 0 to 100. In low-GI foods, carbohydrates are slowly broken down into glucose by the body and absorbed into the blood, meaning the blood sugar level rises and falls gently.

? The diet allows three meals and three snacks every day. The points for each food should be added up to ensure they stay within daily limit.

? Every meal is split into quarters. Two-quarters of each meal should be made up of vegetables, one quarter of protein and the other quarter of carbohydrates. Fruit can be eaten as a snack.