Posted by Raven on 9/18/03

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The glycemic index is becoming a popular way of
identifying good and bad carbs. It is similar to a fat or
calorie value, but it ranks how quickly certain foods
affect blood sugar levels.

From what I can tell, the glycemic index of foods was
first calculated at a university in Australia, then
published in a book by one of the professors. This book is
a bestseller.

Since then, the glycemic index numbers have been appearing
on websites, in magazines and newspapers, etc., as well as
other heatlh books by other authors. It has become
embraced as a nutritional value, like calories or fat.

So my question is this... I operate a health website and
one section deals with weight issues. I would like to
publish a limited list of common foods and their glycemic
index. I was told by a friend at a local university that
she believed the glycemic index was considered public
domain. However, I would like to verify this before
publishing any info. If you do a Google search for
glycemic index, it will pull up 86,000 results. Therefore,
I would not be the first.

Can I publish a limited list of glycemic index values, as
long as I don't attempt to copy a publication in it's
entirety? Can the nutritional value of foods be
copyrighted?

copyright and nutrition info (glycemic index), 9/18/03, by Raven.

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