THE HUMBLE GLYCEMIC INDEX MARKS GLOBAL DIABETES RISK
ConscienHealth’s
Ted Kyle reports on a systematic review and meta-analysis of glycemic
index, glycemic load, and type 2 diabetes risk published in Nutrients by
an impressive global group of nutrition scientists. Their conclusions
are simple and powerful he says. Glycemic index and glycemic load are
important markers of food quality. In fact they do an excellent job of
predicting type 2 diabetes risk for individuals and for the population.
Almost 40 years ago, David Jenkins published the first paper to
propose that the glycemic index of foods might be an important measure
of nutrition quality. Back then, dietary guidance pointed to a low-fat
panacea. Research continued quietly on the glycemic index. The pendulum
swung from fear of fats to carbophobia. Sugar is the villain of the day
now. But maybe the time has come for the glycemic index to bring a bit
more objectivity.
Perhaps some of the energy that goes
into vilifying carbs, sugar, soda, and other dietary goblins would be
better spent directing people toward better carbs. “Don’t” has never
been an especially effective tool for behavior modification.
Senior
author on this new paper, Jennie Brand-Miller, explains the appeal of
the glycemic index: “I liked the fact that it turned traditional
nutritional science upside down. The old wisdoms were that sugars were
bad and starches were good, but the GI showed some starches, such as
potatoes, converted to glucose far quicker than some sugars. What
appealed most was that GI intuitively made sense. We all talk about
needing a sugar hit or having a sugar low, and this provided an
explanation. It provided a way in to explore how foods can affect not
just our physical health, but our moods as well.”
And
now we know that glycemic index is a good marker for how changes in the
food supply are driving an increased type 2 diabetes risk. Maybe now we
can move from the narrow focus on macronutrients to a broader view of
dietary quality. It looks like paying attention to this humble index
might help.
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