Research paper
Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P. An insulin index of foods: the insulin demand generated by 1000-kJ portions of common foods. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997;66(5):1264-1276. doi:10.1093/ajcn/66.5.1264. PMID: 9356547.
Why we cite it
The foundational paper that created the insulin index — a scoring system for the insulin demand of common foods, parallel to the glycemic index but measuring insulin response directly rather than inferring it from blood sugar. By testing 38 foods in isoenergetic (equal-calorie) portions, Holt et al. demonstrated that the glycemic index alone is an incomplete predictor of a food's metabolic impact: protein-rich foods like beef (glycemic score 21, insulin score 51) and fish (28, 59) trigger substantial insulin release despite minimal carbohydrate, and dairy products like yogurt (62, 115) produce nearly twice the insulin their blood sugar response would predict. For the project's companion on protein and insulin, this provides the original quantitative evidence that "carbs = insulin" is an oversimplification. 287 Scopus citations (February 2026).