Low glycemic index and low glycemic load diets have been associated with a reduced risk of certain chronic diseases. For this reason, there has been a growing interest in using these concepts' for nutritional assessment and diet prescription. However, the usage of published glycemic index and glycemic load data is limited, because of the variety of types and preparations of plant-source foods. Since in vivo trials are difficult because of their cost labor-intense and time-consuming procedures, in vitro methods have been developed. These methods are based on the speed of digestion of the different carbohydrates, which allows the glycemic index of foods to be estimated in a practical, simple and cheap manner. This paper presents the use of an in vitro indicator, the hydrolysis index, to estimate the glycemic index and glycemic load. This method is the most commonly used glycemic load and index estimation method in Brazil and this paper aims to promote its use among dieticians. The calculations and interpretations to estimate glycemic load and index are presented by means of a practical example using some Brazilian staple foods and the amaranth grain processed in different ways. In the absence of data on the glycemic response of a particular food, the hydrolysis index can be used to estimate its glycemic index and load. However, the in vitro predictor cannot be used indiscriminately in substitution to glycemic index, since it takes into account only the intrinsic factors of foods that affect the glycemic response.
Starch; Hydrolysis; Glycemic index
