More recently, GI has received some attention as a means of weight control. The rationale behind this is that blood sugar levels affect satiety (feelings of fullness), as well as fat storage. So to control appetite and lose weight, it follows logically that all you need to do is choose the right foods, i.e., low GI foods that make you feel more full than others AND limit fat storage.

Complications of Using Glycemic Index

Unfortunately, GI is not that simple. It can become quite complicated to determine the GI of a food because it is affected by numerous factors. You can easily look up the GI of single foods (like a banana or slice of bread), but once you eat these foods in combination (such as a banana in cereal or bread as part of a sandwich), the numbers change. You can't simply add or subtract the GI's of each ingredient; the combination as a whole takes on a new GI when the foods are eaten together.

In addition, the GI of a food fluctuates depending on: food composition (whether it contains other nutrients such a protein or fat), preparation method, fiber content, ripeness, etc. So GI will vary depending on whether you bake or mash your potatoes, if your pasta is overcooked or just al Dante, and even if you have left your fruit out to ripen a bit more.

For a list of high and low glycemic foods see this website: http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
As a rule of thumb, high GI foods have a GI greater than 60, and moderate to low GI foods are lower than 60.

Because of this disparity, GI is not a foolproof method for blood sugar regulation or weight loss. In fact, the American Diabetes Association does not support using GI of foods as a reliable method of blood sugar control. However, many people do have some success with GI, and there's no harm in trying it, especially in combination with other methods of blood sugar control.

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