Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load: an Updated Database
GI and GL values of food items can vary; here’s an update
Enter the (food) matrix
We pursue optimal health in many ways: pharmacology, the potential of genetic interventions, lifestyle and exercise tweaks…
Lifestyle might be the most important one, and certainly the one we have some control over. A big part of that is what we eat and drink. The link between dietary patterns and health is — rightfully — a topic of active research.
But it’s complicated.
Different bodies respond differently to different foods. Depending on your genetics, overall health, medication, and so on, your body will process food items in a certain way. (For example, the longevity diet might be personal.)
For example, some people avoid white rice because it spikes insulin (high glycemic index and load, more on that below). But the insulin response is highly personal. This 2015 study was — for me — one that really drove home the individual variability in glycemic response (aka the jump in insulin levels). The researchers meticulously tracked glycemic responses in a 100-person cohort, and even in that relatively small group, there was a lot of variability. Some people had an insulin spike after eating…
