The glycemic index can reflect inaccuracies in terms of insulin response. Though relatively new, the glycemic load (GL) is an effective method to measure glucose and insulin response. The glycemic load considers a food’s glycemic index as well as the amount of carbohydrates per serving. The glycemic load is the glycemic index divided by 100 and multiplied by its available carbohydrate content. In summary, the values are:

Carrots
Let’s take the example of carrots – a highly nutritional food choice. Unfortunately, carrots have received some undeserved bad press due to their high glycemic index rating of 71. A carrot only has 4 grams of carbohydrates, so to determine the glycemic load, the calculation is:

71 x 0.04 = 2.84 GL

Therefore carrots have a low glycemic load rating

White Pasta
Now let’s take the example of 1 cup of cooked, white pasta that has a glycemic index rating of 71, but contains 40 grams of carbohydrate. The calculation is:

71 x 0.40 = 28.7 GL

Therefore, pasta has a high glycemic load because it is very carbohydrate dense.

Foods that have a low glycemic load (GL) always have a low glycemic index (GI) rating.

Click here for the glycemic index and glycemic load ratings of most foods.

References