The Glycemic Load Counter: A Pocket Guide to GL and GI Values for over 800 Foods

by Mabel Blades

Eat healthier and balance your glycemic score with this handy, complete pocket guide to GL values. Based on the proven science of the Glycemic Index (GI) but easier to use, Glycemic Load (GL) dieting is the easiest, most powerful tool for following a healthy day-to-day diet. GL values give a more accurate measure of the way different foods affect your body by adjusting the GI score for portion size. For example, an orange is a much healthier snack than a candy bar, but the orange has a higher GI value (42) than the candy bar (41). But when adjusted to the real-world portion, the healthier snack becomes obvious—the orange has a low GL value of 4 compared to the high GL value of 26 for the candy bar! GL, Plus calories, carbs and fat for over 800 popular foods. Convenient design and straightforward A to Z lists. No more Each food's serving size is already computed into the GL score. Glycemic Advice on different types of foods and your body's reaction to each one, from meats and vegetables to breads and fruits.

112 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2008

Reviews

[Rachel Sides · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short, useful book. There are tons of books on the glycemic index, but the glycemic load gives a more real world view of how a food or carb affects blood sugar in the long run. Of course individual results will vary or even vary from day today, but it is a good guide to be armed with when shopping because fresh produce doesn't have nutritional information.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one to buy and have on hand for sure! It has just about all the foods I can think of. Gave the Glycemic Load #, the Glycemic Index #, Calories, Carbs, and Fat per serving. this is a really great book for someone who has to watch those #'s for medical reasons, or for someone just trying to balance their diet the right way. Already on my wish list.

[Sara Branmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only gripe is that I wish it was more "up to date" i.e. contained more foods. It's got foods up to year 2007/8. BUT, having said that, if the food you're currently eating isn't "in it", and you know it's "man made" and comes out of a box, you can pretty much assume it's got a high GI :-) - BUT (again!) having a high GI doesn't mean it may have a high GL too.

(GI = Glycemic Index; GL = Glycemic Load)

If you need to find out a glycemic load of a food, find its GI index (for that serving). Use its GI index number and multiply that by its carb total (for that serving), then divide by 100. 0-10 is low; 11-20 medium; above 20 is high. NOTE: Some counters use the "hundreds" to calculate, others use "tens". Just add or subtract a zero depending on which source you're using.

The Glycemic LOAD is more important for blood-sugar spiking than is the foods' Glycemic (overall) Index.

Handy Dandy cute-sized reference book - hence the title "pocket guide"!