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Glycemic index diet: What's behind the claims  By Mayo Clinic
staff   Glycemic index diet is a general term for weight-loss
diets that are based on your blood sugar level. Many popular
commercial diets, diet books and diet websites revolve around
the glycemic index, including Nutrisystem, the Zone diet and
Sugar Busters.  A glycemic index diet uses the glycemic index to
guide your eating plan. The glycemic index was originally
developed to help improve blood sugar control in diabetes. The
glycemic index classifies carbohydrate-containing foods
according to their potential to raise your blood sugar level.
The glycemic index diet is not a true low-carbohydrate diet
because you don't have to count carbohydrates (carbs). Nor is it
a low-fat diet. It also doesn't require you to reduce portion
sizes or count calories. But the glycemic index diet does steer
you toward certain types of carbs.   Diets based on the glycemic
index suggest that you eat fo