Glycemic index

The glycemic index ranks carbohydrate-containing foods by the rise in blood glucose they produce relative to a reference food, usually glucose or white bread.

Glycemic load: A measure combining a food’s glycemic index with the amount of available carbohydrate in a serving. It adjusts the index for the carbohydrate quantity actually eaten.
Available carbohydrate: Dietary carbohydrate that can be digested and absorbed, excluding most fiber and resistant starch. Glycemic-index testing uses portions containing a fixed amount of this carbohydrate.
Diabetes mellitus: A group of disorders involving chronic high blood glucose due to impaired insulin production or action. Glycemic index is sometimes used to guide carbohydrate choices for glucose management.
Calorie density: The amount of energy provided per unit of food weight or volume. Glycemic index measures glucose response, not how many calories a food supplies.
Oral glucose tolerance test: A test that measures blood glucose after a person consumes a standard glucose drink. Its timed blood samples resemble the testing approach used to derive glycemic-index values.
Starch: A plant storage carbohydrate made of glucose chains, including amylose and amylopectin. Its structure and processing affect how quickly digestion releases glucose.
Low-glycemic diet: An eating pattern that emphasizes foods with relatively low glycemic-index values. It translates food rankings into a dietary strategy.
Nutrient density: The amount of beneficial nutrients relative to a food’s energy content. A low index does not establish that a food is nutritionally rich.
Postprandial blood glucose: The concentration of glucose in blood after a meal. The index compares foods by their effects on this post-meal response.
Dietary fiber: Carbohydrate components of plants that resist digestion in the small intestine. Fiber can slow digestion or reduce the available carbohydrate in a food.

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