The Glycemic Index is a relatively new term in the health world. The science behind the Glycemic Index was first researched in 1981 by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Dr. Jenkins "challenged the assumption promoted by the exchange system that all simple carbohydrates caused a rapid rise in blood glucose levels and all complex carbohydrates released glucose more slowly into the blood." What he and his fellow researchers discovered was that "in equivalent quantities, carbohydrates in white bread (a complex carbohydrate) elevated their subjects’ blood glucose more than those in ice cream, despite its sugar (a simple carbohydrate) content. This seemed to fly in the face of the exchange system and the conventional wisdom of the time." Shortly after their research was done, the Glycemic Index, "a numerical index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response (i.e. their conversion to glucose within the human body)" was developed.
Many Internet resources are dedicated to the Glycemic Index, including an official site and articles from NutritionData and WebMD.
by Ray Salloom
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