I was an early supporter of the glycemic index. In 1996 I wrote the first American article for people with diabetes about it. Subsequently, I introduced Dr. Brand-Miller to Matthew Lore, who went on to publish more than one million copies of her books on the glycemic index.

Following the glycemic index for years helped me control my blood glucose level, but did very little to help me control my weight. Subsequently, Byetta helped me control my blood glucose level somewhat better and helped me control my weight much better. Eventually, however, I decided to manage my diabetes without any drugs. The only way that I know how to do that is to eat a very low-carb diet, which is necessarily high in fat. Our bodies can use only carbohydrates or fat for the energy we need.

Now I am considering the insulin index more in making my food choices. While our bodies need some protein, we can see from the results of this index that a lot of it will stimulate a lot of insulin production, which may well be something we don't need.