What exactly are glycemic index and glycemic load?
Although learning about the glycemic index and the glycemic load of certain foods is not absolutely crucial to healthy eating, it is very important. But like any job well done, the more you know and understand, the more likely you will have greater success. On the following pages, you will find a clear definition of glycemic index and glycemic load. Elsewhere on this web site, under Nutritional Information, a complete glycemic index can be found. Use these lists regularly to help make better choices. The glycemic index is a number that refers to how rapidly a particular food can raise your blood sugar. To better understand the concept, let me explain how it is calculated. Usually ten people are given exactly fifty grams of a particular biologically active carbohydrate. Then each of their blood sugars is measured over a short period of time to determine how quickly their blood sugar rises. An average of all the results is then calculated, and a single number is assigned. The quicker the
