My friend Dr. Gabe Mirkin recently wrote a very interesting piece on the importance of the Glycemic Load. My comments are in italics:

When you eat a food, your blood sugar level rises. The food that raises blood sugar the highest is pure table sugar. Glycemic index is a ratio of how high a particular food raises blood sugar in comparison to how high table sugar raises blood sugar levels. Foods whose carbohydrates break down slowly release glucose into the bloodstream slowly, so blood sugar levels do not rise high and therefore these foods have low glycemic index scores. Those that break down quickly cause a high rise in blood sugar and have a high glycemic index. (High blood sugar is undesireable because it causes the over-production of insulin, a powerful fat storing hormone.  High insulin stops the fat burning process during dieting, and unchecked can cause health problems.) (more…)