Book excerpt: First published in 2005 in B format as The Holford Low-GL Diet, this book quickly established itself as one of Patrick Holford's core nutrition titles. Patrick is at the forefront of research into fast, safe and lasting weight loss, pinpointing that the secret of successful weight loss is to balance your blood sugar. By eating foods with a low glycemic load (GL), you can balance your blood sugar and not only lose weight quickly but keep it off, feel full of energy and enjoy greatly improved health. In the four years since first publication, thousands of people have followed Patrick's low-GL system with great success, and numerous scientific trials have validated the initial research. As well as encouraging weight loss, it has been proven that a low-GL diet can slow down the ageing process, improve mood and memory, lower cholesterol without drugs, prevent and reverse diabetes and heart disease, and cut cancer risk. This expanded and updated edition - THE LOW-GL DIET BIBLE - is packed with new information on why low GL beats low-fat, low-calorie and high-protein diets every time, and why it is number one for weight loss and good health.