Measuring the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Loads before You Cook

Glycemic Index Cookbook For Dummies

Before you start cooking up recipes that follow the glycemic index diet, you need to know the difference between the glycemic index and the glycemic load:

The glycemic index (GI) places foods on a scale of 0 to 100, based on how fast they raise blood glucose (also known as blood sugar) levels. Foods that raise blood sugar quickly have higher GI numbers than foods that take longer to affect blood sugar. Here's the range of glycemic index measurements:
- GI of 55 or less = Low
- GI of 56 to 69 = Medium
- GI of 70 or more = High
The glycemic load (GL) goes one step further: This measurement applies the glycemic index to the amount of food you're going to eat. You simply multiply the glycemic index of a food by the amount of carbs (in grams) in the food, and then you divide by 100. Here's the range of glycemic load measurements:
- GL of 10 or less = Low
- GL of 11 to 19 = Medium
- GL of 20 or more = High

About This Article

About the book author:

Meri Raffetto, RDN, founded Real Living Nutrition Services (reallivingnutrition.com), which pro- vides one of the only interactive online weight-loss and wellness programs.

Rosanne Rust is an internationally recognized nutrition expert, registered dietitian, and author with a passion for balanced eating and reducing waste. Grounded in science, she has focused on helping people set realistic health and dietary goals over her 30-year career. She provides freelance nutrition communications work in the food and agriculture spaces and blogs at Chew the Facts.^® Find her on social media @chewthefacts or www.rustnutrition.com.