Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

enzymes already being manufactured for human con-
sumption. Fritz Koning of Leiden University Medical
Center in the Netherlands is leading the research. He
stated that if the enzyme proves itself in clinical trials to
eliminate the need for a gluten-free diet, it could be
mass produced at a reasonable cost.

Resources

BOOKS
Case, Shelley.Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource
Guide.Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: Case Nutrition
Consulting, 2003.
Celiac Sprue Association.The CSA Gluten-Free Product
Listing11th Edition. Omaho, NE: Celiac Sprue Asso-
ciation, 2006.
Children’s Digestive Health and Nutrition Foundation.
Gluten-Free Diet Guide for Families.Flourtown, PA:
Children’s Digestive Health and Nutrition Foundation,

2005. [www.celiachealth.org/pdf/GlutenFreeDiet
      GuideWeb.pdf]
      Korn, Danna.Kids with Celiac Disease: A Family Guide to
      Raising Happy, Healthy, Gluten-Free Children.
      Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, Inc., 2001.
      Hagman, Bette.The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort
      Foods: Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours.New
      York, NY: Henry Holt and Co., 2004.
      Tessmer, Kimberly A.Gluten-Free for a Healthy Life:
      Nutritional Advice and Recipes for Those Suffering from
      Celiac Disease and Other Gluten-Related Disorders.
      Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books, 2003.
      Korn, Danna.Living Gluten-Free for Dummies.Hoboken,
      NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2006.
      Korn, Danna.Wheat-Free, Worry-Free: The Art of Happy,
      Healthy Gluten-Free Living.Carlsbad, CA: Hay House,
      Inc., 2002.
      Lowell, Jax Peters.The Gluten-Free Bible: The Thoroughly
      Indispensable Guide to Negotiating Life without Wheat.
      New York, NY: Owl Books, 2005.

ORGANIZATIONS
Celiac Disease Foundation, 13251 Ventura Boulevard, Suite
1, Studio City, CA 91604-1838; Telephone: (818) 990-
2354; Website: [www.celiac.org]
Celiac Sprue Association, P.O. Box 3170, Omaha, NE
68131-0700. Telephone: (877) 272-4272; E-mail: [cel-
[email protected]]; Website: [www.csaceliacs.org]
Gluten Intolerance Group, 31214 124th Avenue SE,
Auburn, WA 98092-3667. Telephone: (253) 883-6655;
Website: [www.gluten.net]
Gluten-Free Living, [glutenfreeliving.com]
The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research. 20
Penn Street, Room S303B Baltimore, MD 21201.
Clinic: University of Maryland Medical Center 22 S.
Greene Street (N5W40) Baltimore, MD 21201. Tele-
phone: (410) 328-6749 or (800) 492-5538. Website:
[www.celiaccenter.org/]

Judith L. Sims

Glycemic index diets

Definition

Glycemic index diets rank carbohydrates based on

their ability to affect blood glucose (sugar) levels. These

diets generally consider foods high in carbohydrates,

such as bread, sugar, and pasta, as bad and low carbo-

hydrate foods, such as meat, fish, and dairy products,

as good.

Origins

Low-glycemic diets concepts were first developed

in the 1960s and were originally designed for individu-

als with diabetes. At that time, the prevailing medical

attitude was that a diet emphasizing well-balanced

foods while paying special attention to carbohydrates

(carbs) and avoiding carbohydrate-rich foods, helped

to control blood sugar and insulin levels. This came

after a number of medical studies linked eating foods

high in carbohydrates with elevated blood glucose lev-

els in diabetics. In the 1980s, researchers developed the

glycemic index (GI).

Before 1981, carbohydrates were classified as sim-

ple or complex. Simple carbohydrates included fructose

(fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and lactose (milk

sugar). Complex carbohydrates are also composed of

sugars but the sugar molecules are strung together to

form longer and more complex chains. Foods high in

complex carbohydrates include vegetables, whole

grains, and beans. In 1981, researchers David Jenkins

and Thomas Wolever of the University of Toronto

Department of Nutritional Sciences developed the gly-

cemic index (GI) and published a study suggesting that

using the glycemic index of foods was a more accurate

way of classifying carbohydrates than the simple and

complex system.

Since 1981, dozens of low-carb diets and diet books

have come out, using the glycemic index as the primary

guiding principle. Among the more popular glycemic

index-inspired diets are the Sugar Busters Diet, Zone

Diet, Protein Power Diet, Suzanne Somers diet, and

South Beach Diet. In general, these diets are similar.

Their differences are in the zeal that they limit carbohy-

drate intake.

In 1997, epidemiologist and nutritionist Walter

Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health devel-

oped the glycemic load as a more accurate way of rating

carbohydrates compared to the glycemic index. This is

because the glycemic load factors in the amount of a

food eaten which the glycemic index does not. The

glycemic load of a particular food is determined by

Glycemic index diets