Are low GI diets better than low carb?
As yet there are few clinical studies showing how effective low GI diets might be from a purely weight loss point of view, whereas there is plenty of evidence supporting low carb diets in this respect. In all probability the issue boils down to the individual’s tolerance to carbs – if your tolerance is not very high, then you are unlikely to lose weight simply by eating low GI foods. If this is the case, you would need to ensure that the low GI foods you eat are also very low in total carbs. One way to do this is to follow a low GI diet which also takes into account the glycemic load (see below for more detail). At this point the difference between a low GI diet and a low carb diet becomes very small. If on the other hand you have a reasonably high tolerance to carbs, then you would probably do well on a low GI diet – or equally, a quality low carb plan such as the Atkins Diet which encourages intake of ‘good’ carbs up to your individual level of tolerance. That said, there is no doubt
