The Gycemic Index: Why Do We Care?

The Gycemic index is a measure of how much a given food (like fruit) raises your blood sugar. High - sugar foods that convert quickly to sugar in the body - are considered "high glycemic." Why do we care? Because raising blood sugar raises levels of a hormone called insulin, which if raised high enough and long enough and frequently enough, contributes to diabetes, heart disease, and aging. Eating "low glycemic" is a strategy that is virtually guaranteed to contribute to health.

Unfortunately, the glyceminc index is very misleading because it doesn't take into account portion size. The glycemic load is the number that's more important. For now, the take home point of this: Eat less sugar: And eat more fewer foods that convert quickly to sugar in the body ( read: almost all processed carbohydrates). If you're interested in learning more about this - something I would recommend highly that you do - there are so many clear, well written articles on this subject. An excellent article for beginners can be found at http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/glycemicindex.html. Hormel foods also has a good introductory article at http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge.asp?caritenid=108&id=767 If your dig into science a little deeper try this article posted on the Oregon State University Web at http://www.lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/foods/grains/gigl.html

Finally the actual tables of the glycemic index and glycemic load can be found at http://www.mendosa.com/glists.htm Remember it is the glycemic load that you want to pay attention to.