In a message dated 11/27/1999 10:59:29 AM Eastern Standard Time,
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> No! GI is mesured on the cardbohydrate content of the food, So this
>  should be read as: "bread to the amount of containing 100 grams carbo-
>  hydrate ..." Sugar is close to 100 % carbohydrate (I think there is a
>  little water and other things), but bread is far from 100% carbo.
>  When comparing food with lots of water or fibre, the actual weight of
>  the food to compare with is much higher.

This information is wrong.  GI is not measured according to carb content, and
in reality, one often has little to do with the other.  One prime example is
white bread, which does indeed carry a GI of 100, higher than that of cane
sugar.  While the carb count of a multi-wholegrain bread or pita bread is
about half that, if the grain hasn't been altered.  The same is true of some
pastas and also of many fresh fruits, even those these are all high carb
foods.  The high fiber content is the key to lower GI rating, it has a great
impact on slowing the rate of digestion, thus, sugar spikes/insulin dumping
is avoided.  Processing foods causes problems.

Above are high carb foods with a low GI rating.  There are also many low carb
foods with a very high GI rating, including carrots, squash, turnips,
peanuts, and beets.  I believe there is a chance this could be why not all
lowcarbers are seeing great weight loss, if they are incorporating high GI
lowcarb foods into their diets on a regular basis.

To learn more, the best book I've found so far is "The G-Index Diet", by
Richard N. Podell, M.D., F.A.C.P.

Michele
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