The Glycemic Index (GI) is a ranking system for carbohydrates in foods, based on how quickly they raise blood sugar (glucose) levels after being eaten. Foods are given a score from 0 to 100, with pure glucose having a value of 100 as the reference point. Foods are categorised as:

Low GI: 55 or less
Medium GI: 56–69
High GI: 70 or more

The glycemic load (GL) is a measure of how much a particular food serving is likely to raise your blood sugar. A high GL is bad because it causes a significant and rapid spike in blood sugar, which forces your pancreas to release a large amount of insulin to bring the sugar level down.

The Role of Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that acts like a key, allowing blood sugar (glucose) to enter your cells to be used for energy. When your blood sugar levels spike due to a high-GL meal, your body produces a surge of insulin to manage it. This constant demand for insulin can lead to several problems over time:

Insulin Resistance: Your cells can become less responsive to insulin, a condition called insulin resistance. This means your body has to produce even more insulin to get the same effect, creating a vicious cycle that can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes.
Weight Gain: The high insulin levels can signal your body to store fat, contributing to weight gain and obesity.
Blood Sugar Crash: After the rapid insulin response, your blood sugar can drop just as quickly, leading to feelings of hunger, fatigue, and cravings for more sugary or high-carb foods.

The Role of Insulin
Insulin is a hormone that acts like a key, allowing blood sugar (glucose) to enter your cells to be used for energy. When your blood sugar levels spike due to high-GL food, your body produces a surge of insulin to manage it. This constant demand for insulin can lead to several problems over time:

Insulin Resistance: Your cells can become less responsive to insulin, a condition called insulin resistance. This means your body has to produce even more insulin to get the same effect, creating a vicious cycle that can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes.
Weight Gain: The high insulin levels can signal your body to store fat, contributing to weight gain and obesity.
Blood Sugar Crash: After the rapid insulin response, your blood sugar can drop just as quickly, leading to feelings of hunger, fatigue, and cravings for more sugary or high-carb foods.
How to Address a High Glycemic Load

The glycemic load is calculated by multiplying a food’s Glycemic Index (GI) by the amount of carbohydrates in a serving, then dividing by 100. This is why it’s a more practical measure than GI alone, as it accounts for both the quality of the carbohydrate and the quantity you eat.

To address a high GL, you can:
Reduce Portion Size: Eating a smaller amount of a high-GI food will lower its GL.
Combine Foods: Pairing high-GI foods with foods rich in fibre, protein, or healthy fats will slow down digestion and reduce the overall GL of the meal. For example, eating a baked potato (high GI) with butter, sour cream, and a protein source like chicken will result in a much lower GL than eating the potato alone.
Choose Low-GL Alternatives: Opt the the GAPS diet which is high in collagen, no refined sugar, no grains, low starches, such as rice, which also leads to low carbohydrates, meat broths & sprouted & fermented foods. Healthy fats, like ghee, coconut oil and olive oil. No ultra-processed foods. This approach, as advocated by doctors like Dr. Pradip Jamnadas and Dr. William Davis, focuses on eliminating the high-GL sources from the diet altogether to promote stable blood sugar and better metabolic health.