Glycemic load

The glycemic load (GL) is a ranking system for carbohydrate content in food portions based on their glycemic index (GI) and the portion size.

The usefulness of glycemic load is based on the idea that a high glycemic index food consumed in small quantities would give the same effect as larger quantities of a low glycemic index food on blood sugar. For example, white rice is somewhat high GI, so eating 50g of white rice at one sitting would give a particular glucose curve in the blood, while 25g would give the same curve but half the height. Since the peak height is probably the most important parameter, multiplying the amount of carbohydrates in a food serving by the glycemic index gives an idea of how much effect an actual portion of food has on blood sugar level.

A study of weight loss comparing low GL to high GL diets has found no significant differences between the two, indicating that excessive attention to GL within weightloss programs is misplaced and that a range of foods with widely varying GL values can be part of a healthy diet. [ Das et al (2007). "Long-term effects of 2 energy-restricted diets differing in glycemic load on dietary adherence, body composition, and metabolism in CALERIE: a 1-y randomized controlled trial" American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, No. 4, 1023-1030 [http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/85/4/1023] ]

Glycemic load for a single serving of a food can be calculated as the quantity (in grams) of its carbohydrate content, multiplied by its GI, and divided by 100. For example, a 100g slice serving of watermelon with a GI of 72 and a carbohydrate content of 5g (it contains a lot of water) makes the calculation 5*0.72=3.6, so the GL is 3.6. A food with a GI of 100 and a carbohydrate content of 10g has a GL of 10 (10*1=10), while a food with 100g carbohydrate and a GI of just 10 also has a GL of 10 (100*0.1=10).

Data on GI and GL comes from the "University of Sydney" ("Human Nutrition Unit") GI database at [http://ziag4.mmb.usyd.edu.au/] through [http://www.glycemicindex.com/] .

List of foods and their glycemic load, per 100g serving

ee also

*Glycemic index
*Insulin index

External links

* [http://www.glycemicindex.com Glycemic index website and official GI database - University of Sydney]
* [http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/76/1/5 "International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2002," American Journal of Clinical Nutrtition]
* [http://www.gl-diets.com GL Diet Information] (Including Meal Planner Tips GL Range)
* [http://www.50plus.org/Libraryitems/2_5_glycemicload.html Glycemic Load, Diet and Health]
* [http://www.menialtools.com/GI_calculator.php Tree/freetext search-style database of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load] (same number of food items but also calculates totals according to [http://www.fao.org/docrep/w8079e/w8079e0a.htm FAO/WHO specifications] ).
* [http://www.glycemicgourmet.com/ Low glycemic index recipes, cooking tips, and food lists] Glycemic Gourmet
* [http://good-carb-food.co.uk/low-glycemic-eating.asp Low Glycemic Eating] The GoodCarb Food Company was the first company in the world to directly measure the glycaemic load (GL) of their products.
* [http://www.naturaleater.com/Deadly-Harvest/Web-Edition/40-Deadly-Harvest-chapter4.htm Deadly Harvest p. 102] . This book on Nutritional Anthropology is an original approach to the human diet in general and glycemic load in particular.

References