Forget About The Glycemic Index, Maybe

The glycemic index, which as the New York Times’ Anahad O’Connor explains, “reflects the extent to which carbohydrate-containing foods raise a person’s blood sugar and subsequent need for insulin,” has served as a kind of biblical guide to many who pay attention to what they eat. Theory has is that low glycemic foods are better for health because the carbs they contain are digested at a slower rate. But wait. Now comes O’Connor with a report of a new study from that National Institutes of Health that found that diets containing low glycemic foods did not lower cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors compared to diets containing mostly high glycemic foods. It also found no relationship between glycemic index and body weight. The researchers found that when two diets, one high in glycemic foods and one low, had similar amounts of carbs and calories, the low glycemic approach did not improve insulin sensitivity, cholesterol or blood pressure levels. Read more in the New York Times.