The study aimed to examine the possible association between glycaemic index and
glycaemic load on depression with the overall findings indicating that a diet with a lower dietary glycaemic index may be effective to reduce the risk of depression.
Low glycaemic index diet group showed statistically significant mean decrease in body mass (p=0.004) and BMI (p=0.005), and there was also a significant decrease in body mass (p=0.04) and BMI (p=0.03) in cases as compared to controls.20 All of these studies showed a statistically significant difference in weight reduction among low glycaemic index/low
glycaemic load diet group in comparison to control or other treatment groups.
It was only in 1997 that the
glycaemic load (GL), which is the product of the GI multiplied by the amount of available carbohydrate (GL = GI (%) x available carbohydrate), was conceptualised by the nutritional epidemiologists at Harvard University in the USA.
Healthiest: Whole milk Rice cakes vs oatcakes "Oatcakes win hands down because they have a lower
glycaemic load. That means they can help regulate your blood sugar and assist with weight management by keeping you fuller for longer," said Laila Lewis.
Since the amount of carbohydrate-containing food required to supply a total of 50g digestible carbohydrate varies (e.g., ~1000g of watermelon or ~210g of boiled white rice), the
Glycaemic Load (GL) concept was introduced by Harvard researchers to consider the gram amount of each food.
This is a vast topic and if you are concerned about your diet further reading is definitely recommended - it would also be worthwhile researching the
Glycaemic load as this is becoming more prominent as it also takes into account the typical serving size of a food within its calculation.
They found that women whose diet had the highest
glycaemic load had more than double the risk of heart disease than those with the lowest
glycaemic load.
Due to its low GL (
Glycaemic Load) it is a good choice for diabetics and unlike honey it is vegan and registered with The Vegan Society.
Available data suggest that a high dietary
glycaemic load is associated directly with increased risk of coronary artery disease (115) and type 2 diabetes (106).
Glycaemic load is a measure of the effect of food on the blood glucose levels as influenced by insulin after eating a specific food.
(1) Individuals consuming diets with a high
glycaemic load (165) and a low intake of cereal fibre (<2.5 g/day) are at a two-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those consuming more than 5.8 g of cereal fibre/d and a low (<143)
glycaemic load.
GL measures the
Glycaemic Load of food - again checking how meals raise your blood sugar levels.