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The Freshwell Low Carb programme's traffic light food lists, its principles in its own words, and links to its free resources.
The Freshwell Low Carb Project was started by Dr David Oliver and Dr Kim Andrewsat the Freshwell Health Centre in Essex, UK. It grew from concerns about the rise in type 2 diabetes and obesity in the UK population.
The approach: reduce sugar to a minimum, avoid processed foods, and eat real, unprocessed food. The programme uses a traffic light system to make food choices easy to understand at a glance.
Source: About the Freshwell Low Carb Project. This app is not affiliated with Freshwell.
Copied line by line from the official Freshwell “Red, Amber and Green foods & drinks” leaflet (version 3, dated 29 Feb 2024).
The leaflet: things that you can have as much of as you like.
The leaflet: foods which are ok in moderation.
The leaflet: foods to avoid as much as possible.
In the programme's own words, summarised from What is a Low Carb Lifestyle?. These are its views, not claims this app has checked.
The programme says to cut sugar, including hidden sugar, to an absolute minimum. It says excess sugar is turned straight into fat in the liver.
Its rule of thumb: if it comes in a packet with a long list of ingredients, consider buying something else.
It says natural fats such as olive oil, butter and coconut oil are good, and to avoid seed oils such as rapeseed and sunflower oil, which it says are thought to cause inflammation.
It advises against snacking between meals, saying that every time we eat, the body switches to energy-storage mode.
Food as nature intended: vegetables (especially those grown above ground, but not potatoes), meat, fish, cheese, eggs, nuts and full-fat dairy.
It says to minimise all bread (including whole-grain), cereals, potatoes, pasta and rice.
RAG stands for Red, Amber, Green. A summary of the leaflet above: every item in a cell is listed in that colour on the leaflet.
| Category | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | Meat, poultry, fish (not breaded or battered), eggs, tofu, Quorn, beans and pulses | Bacon, ham, sausages; peanuts, cashews, pistachios, chestnuts; baked beans | Pies and sausage rolls; protein bars |
| Dairy | Full-fat milk, plain yogurt and cheese; butter; cream and crème fraiche | Low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt; unsweetened coconut, almond and soya milk | Rice and oat milk; fruit yogurt with sugar or sweeteners; milkshake |
| Vegetables | Most vegetables, including onion, tomatoes, swede, turnip, celeriac and green leaves | Beetroot, butternut squash, carrots, leeks, parsnips, peas, sweetcorn | Potatoes, sweet potatoes |
| Fruit | Berries, blackcurrants and redcurrants, coconut, grapefruit, rhubarb | Apples, pears, plums, cherries, nectarines, oranges, kiwi, figs, melons | Bananas, grapes, mango, pineapple, dried fruit, tinned fruit |
| Fats | Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, cream, sour cream | — | Vegetable seed oils, margarine, low-fat spreads, low-fat cooking spray |
| Carbs and baking | Almond and coconut flour, konjac noodles, psyllium husk | Gram flour, arrowroot | Bread, wraps, pasta, rice, cereals and oats, cous cous, wheat flour, crackers |
| Drinks | Water, soda water, tea and coffee | Diet drinks, red or white wine, spirits with diet mixers, cocoa | Fizzy drinks, fruit juice, cordials, sports drinks, beer, cider |
| Sweet things | — | Dark chocolate (min 80% cocoa); stevia, erythritol, xylitol | Biscuits, cakes, sweets, honey, jam, maple syrup, ice cream, milk chocolate |
Source: Freshwell Red, Amber and Green leaflet, v3 (PDF), dated 29 Feb 2024.
Freshwell Low Carb Project
The official Freshwell website with guides, videos, recipes and the Freshwell app.
Freshwell Health Centre
The GP practice behind the programme.
Red, Amber, Green leaflet (PDF, 7.8 MB)
The official 4-page Freshwell leaflet that every colour in this app comes from.
Freshwell Food Scanner App
Free mobile app that scans food barcodes and gives a traffic light rating.
Meal Planners
Free meal planners by Dr Kim Andrews, including vegetarian and budget versions.
Getting started: the self-guided programme
Free programme with video modules, meal planners, recipes and the app.
This app is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the Freshwell Health Centre. Always consult your GP or healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes, especially if you have diabetes or take medication.