What are Low Glycemic Index Diets?

Mainstream groups, such as the American Heart Association and the American Dietetic Association, endorse a unified set of guidelines for the optimum diet. According to these organizations, the majority of calories in the daily diet should come from carbohydrates (55% to 60%); fat should provide no more than 30% of total calories; and protein should be kept to 10% to 15%.

However, many popular diet books turn the standard diet on its head. As described in the entry on low-carbohydrate diets , the Atkins diet, the Zone diet, Protein Power, and other “alternative” dietary approaches turn thumbs down on carbohydrates and advocate increased consumption of fat and/or protein. According to theory, the low-carb approach aids in weight loss (and provides a variety of other health benefits)...

Weak evidence hints that a low glycemic index diet might help prevent macular degeneration . ¹ Although there are theoretical reasons to believe that use of white sugar and other high glycemic index foods might promote colon cancer, a large observational study failed to find any association between colon cancer rates and diets high in sugar, carbohydrates, or GL. ² It has been proposed that low-GI foods may enhance sports performance . One study involving a simulated 64-km bicycle race found no performance differences between use of honey (low GI) or dextrose (high GI) as a carbohydrate source. ³ However, another study did find benefit with a low-GI snack prior to endurance exercise. ⁴ One interesting, though far from definitive, study compared a low glycemic load diet...