So what is IR and what does low GI mean?

Well, I'm still learning myself, but here is what I understand of it so far...

The deal on insulin resistance (IR):

Basically, in normal people, processing of sugar and carbohydrate goes like this: we eat sugar or carbs that are processed as sugar and the pancreas releases insulin to process the sugars.In people with insulin resistance however, the insulin does not work on the cells very effectively, so the sugars remain and the pancreas receives a message to pump out more insulin. With the ultimate result that, for someone like me, I manage to get my sugars down, but only by using 5x as much insulin as normal or non-IR people. IR is hereditary to some extent, and is also exacerbated by stress and by taking the oral contraceptive pill. Things like exercise and diet can improve IR. Diet means eating foods that don’t need so much insulin to break them down as they don’t cause such a dramatic sugar spike - these are called low glycemic index (GI) foods. Exercise helps our cells use insulin more effectively.

The deal on the Low Glycemic Index diet (GI):

As for what low GI really means, this is taken from the GI website, the best resource I have found so far: "The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels." So low GI carbs are those that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels.

From what i have read so far, the low GI concept has some logical and useful ideas, but it also has strong opponents, who think that it has become a marketing tool that confuses consumers. More on this later. Generally, even the GI advocates say that you need to consider overall nutrition of the food as well as the GI, so it's not to be followed blindly, but can be a useful tool for those of us trying to regulate our insulin. I use it as part of my diet now, but my understanding of diet and lifestyle is on a huge learning curve, so this may change as I find out more...which I will be sure to share here.