Friday, March 17, 2006


Another diet fad bites the dust: "Weight- and health-conscious eaters may not find much help in following the so-called low-GI diet, a new study suggests. In recent years, researchers have taken to classifying carbohydrates based on their GI, or glycemic index - a measure of the effects of a given food on blood sugar levels. High-GI foods, like white bread and potatoes, tend to produce a quick surge in blood sugar, and some studies have suggested that diets heavy in such foods can contribute to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease. Books and web sites espousing "low-GI" diets have followed suit. But not all studies have found associations between high-GI foods and elevated blood sugar and diabetes. One reason is that it's hard to translate lab findings on glycemic index to the much more complicated realm of everyday eating, according to Dr. Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, the lead author of the new study... In her team's study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, there was no association between high-GI eating habits and elevated blood sugar among 813 adults who were followed over 5 years."

No comments: