Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Glycemic Response Are Not the Same
- Alan W. Barclay, BSC, GRADDIPDIET1,
- Jennie C. Brand-Miller, PHD1 and
- Thomas M.S. Wolever, MD, PHD2
- 1School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- 2Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Address correspondence to Alan Barclay, Diabetes Australia, GPO Box 9824, Sydney, NSW, 2001, Australia. E-mail: awbarclay{at}optusnet.com.au
The paper by Hodge et al. (1) published in the November 2004 issue of Diabetes Care aptly contrasts the potential benefits of moderately high-carbohydrate diets with a low glycemic index (GI) versus diets that have a lower glycemic load (GL) by virtue of a low carbohydrate content. In their prospective analysis of a cohort of ∼36,000 adults followed for 4 years, Hodge et. al found that higher-carbohydrate diets were associated with a lower risk of development of type 2 diabetes. However, the type of carbohydrate was equally important: low-GI carbohydrates reduced the risk, while high-GI carbohydrates increased the risk. Thus, low GI and low GL are not equivalent and produce …
