Understanding the Glycemic index
Understanding the Glycemic load really helps to manage your glucose levels.
Take a look at your last lab results and check your glucose level. Optimal is 95. A glucose level of 130 or above is patient diagnosable as diabetic. Know your numbers!
The total amount of carbs you consume at a meal or in a snack mostly determines what your blood sugar will do. But the food itself also plays a role. A serving of white rice has almost the same effect as eating pure table sugar — a quick, high spike in blood sugar. A serving of lentils has a slower, smaller effect.
Picking good sources of carbs can help you control your blood sugar and your weight. Even if you don’t have diabetes, eating healthier carbohydrate-rich foods can help ward off a host of chronic conditions, from heart disease to various cancers to, well, diabetes.
One way to choose foods is with the glycemic index (GI). This tool measures how much a food boosts blood sugar.
The glycemic index rates the effect of a specific amount of a food on blood sugar compared with the same amount of pure glucose. A food with a glycemic index of 28 boosts blood sugar only 28% as much as pure glucose. One with a GI of 95 acts pretty much like pure glucose.
Glycemic index and glycemic load for 100+ foods
Glycemic index and glycemic load offer information about how foods affect blood sugar and insulin. The lower a food’s glycemic index or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels. Here you’ll find a list of the glycemic index and glycemic load for more than 100 common foods.
| FOOD | Glycemic index (glucose = 100) | Serving size (grams) | Glycemic load per serving |
| BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BREADS | |||
| Banana cake, made with sugar | 47 | 60 | 14 |
| Banana cake, made without sugar | 55 | 60 | 12 |
| Sponge cake, plain | 46 | 63 | 17 |
| Vanilla cake made from packet mix with vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker) | 42 | 111 | 24 |
| Apple, made with sugar | 44 | 60 | 13 |
| Apple, made without sugar | 48 | 60 | 9 |
| Waffles, Aunt Jemima (Quaker Oats) | 76 | 35 | 10 |
| Bagel, white, frozen | 72 | 70 | 25 |
| Baguette, white, plain | 95 | 30 | 15 |
| Coarse barley bread, 75-80% kernels, average | 34 | 30 | 7 |
| Hamburger bun | 61 | 30 | 9 |
| Kaiser roll | 73 | 30 | 12 |
| Pumpernickel bread | 56 | 30 | 7 |
| 50% cracked wheat kernel bread | 58 | 30 | 12 |
| White wheat flour bread | 71 | 30 | 10 |
| Wonder™ bread, average | 73 | 30 | 10 |
| Whole wheat bread, average | 71 | 30 | 9 |
| 100% Whole Grain™ bread (Natural Ovens) | 51 | 30 | 7 |
| Pita bread, white | 68 | 30 | 10 |
| Corn tortilla | 52 | 50 | 12 |
| Wheat tortilla | 30 | 50 | 8 |
| BEVERAGES | |||
| Coca Cola®, average | 63 | 250 mL | 16 |
| Fanta®, orange soft drink | 68 | 250 mL | 23 |
| Lucozade®, original (sparkling glucose drink) | 95±10 | 250 mL | 40 |
| Apple juice, unsweetened, average | 44 | 250 mL | 30 |
| Cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray®) | 68 | 250 mL | 24 |
| Gatorade | 78 | 250 mL | 12 |
| Orange juice, unsweetened | 50 | 250 mL | 12 |
| Tomato juice, canned | 38 | 250 mL | 4 |
| BREAKFAST CEREALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS | |||
| All-Bran™, average | 55 | 30 | 12 |
| Coco Pops™, average | 77 | 30 | 20 |
| Cornflakes™, average | 93 | 30 | 23 |
| Cream of Wheat™ (Nabisco) | 66 | 250 | 17 |
| Cream of Wheat™, Instant (Nabisco) | 74 | 250 | 22 |
| Grapenuts™, average | 75 | 30 | 16 |
| Muesli, average | 66 | 30 | 16 |
| Oatmeal, average | 55 | 250 | 13 |
| Instant oatmeal, average | 83 | 250 | 30 |
| Puffed wheat, average | 80 | 30 | 17 |
| Raisin Bran™ (Kellogg’s) | 61 | 30 | 12 |
| Special K™ (Kellogg’s) | 69 | 30 | 14 |
| GRAINS | |||
| Pearled barley, average | 28 | 150 | 12 |
| Sweet corn on the cob, average | 60 | 150 | 20 |
| Couscous, average | 65 | 150 | 9 |
| Quinoa | 53 | 150 | 13 |
| White rice, average | 89 | 150 | 43 |
| Quick cooking white basmati | 67 | 150 | 28 |
| Brown rice, average | 50 | 150 | 16 |
| Converted, white rice (Uncle Ben’s®) | 38 | 150 | 14 |
| Whole wheat kernels, average | 30 | 50 | 11 |
| Bulgur, average | 48 | 150 | 12 |
| COOKIES AND CRACKERS | |||
| Graham crackers | 74 | 25 | 14 |
| Vanilla wafers | 77 | 25 | 14 |
| Shortbread | 64 | 25 | 10 |
| Rice cakes, average | 82 | 25 | 17 |
| Rye crisps, average | 64 | 25 | 11 |
| Soda crackers | 74 | 25 | 12 |
| DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVES | |||
| Ice cream, regular | 57 | 50 | 6 |
| Ice cream, premium | 38 | 50 | 3 |
| Milk, full fat | 41 | 250mL | 5 |
| Milk, skim | 32 | 250 mL | 4 |
| Reduced-fat yogurt with fruit, average | 33 | 200 | 11 |
| FRUITS | |||
| Apple, average | 39 | 120 | 6 |
| Banana, ripe | 62 | 120 | 16 |
| Dates, dried | 42 | 60 | 18 |
| Grapefruit | 25 | 120 | 3 |
| Grapes, average | 59 | 120 | 11 |
| Orange, average | 40 | 120 | 4 |
| Peach, average | 42 | 120 | 5 |
| Peach, canned in light syrup | 40 | 120 | 5 |
| Pear, average | 38 | 120 | 4 |
| Pear, canned in pear juice | 43 | 120 | 5 |
| Prunes, pitted | 29 | 60 | 10 |
| Raisins | 64 | 60 | 28 |
| Watermelon | 72 | 120 | 4 |
| BEANS AND NUTS | |||
| Baked beans, average | 40 | 150 | 6 |
| Blackeye peas, average | 33 | 150 | 10 |
| Black beans | 30 | 150 | 7 |
| Chickpeas, average | 10 | 150 | 3 |
| Chickpeas, canned in brine | 38 | 150 | 9 |
| Navy beans, average | 31 | 150 | 9 |
| Kidney beans, average | 29 | 150 | 7 |
| Lentils, average | 29 | 150 | 5 |
| Soy beans, average | 15 | 150 | 1 |
| Cashews, salted | 27 | 50 | 3 |
| Peanuts, average | 7 | 50 | 0 |
| PASTA and NOODLES | |||
| Fettucini, average | 32 | 180 | 15 |
| Macaroni, average | 47 | 180 | 23 |
| Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft) | 64 | 180 | 32 |
| Spaghetti, white, boiled, average | 46 | 180 | 22 |
| Spaghetti, white, boiled 20 min, average | 58 | 180 | 26 |
| Spaghetti, wholemeal, boiled, average | 42 | 180 | 17 |
| SNACK FOODS | |||
| Corn chips, plain, salted, average | 42 | 50 | 11 |
| Fruit Roll-Ups® | 99 | 30 | 24 |
| M & M’s®, peanut | 33 | 30 | 6 |
| Microwave popcorn, plain, average | 55 | 20 | 6 |
| Potato chips, average | 51 | 50 | 12 |
| Pretzels, oven-baked | 83 | 30 | 16 |
| Snickers Bar® | 51 | 60 | 18 |
| VEGETABLES | |||
| Green peas, average | 51 | 80 | 4 |
| Carrots, average | 35 | 80 | 2 |
| Parsnips | 52 | 80 | 4 |
| Baked russet potato, average | 111 | 150 | 33 |
| Boiled white potato, average | 82 | 150 | 21 |
| Instant mashed potato, average | 87 | 150 | 17 |
| Sweet potato, average | 70 | 150 | 22 |
| Yam, average | 54 | 150 | 20 |
| MISCELLANEOUS | |||
| Hummus (chickpea salad dip) | 6 | 30 | 0 |
| Chicken nuggets, frozen, reheated in microwave oven 5 min | 46 | 100 | 7 |
| Pizza, plain baked dough, served with parmesan cheese and tomato sauce | 80 | 100 | 22 |
| Pizza, Super Supreme (Pizza Hut) | 36 | 100 | 9 |
| Honey, average | 61 | 25 | 12 |
