Glycemic Index

Richard157 · 01-30-2010, 17:51

Foods with a higher glycemic index number will raise your blood sugar much faster. Those with a lower number will raise your blood sugar more slowly. The lower the number, the healthier the food, for diabetics.

Glycemic Index (GI) Food Chart

For a list of glycemic index values of foods, see the chart below. The reference value of the glycemic-index chart is Glucose (GI = 100)
High GI foods have a glycemic index of more than 70. Low GI foods have a glycemic index of less than 55. Medium GI foods are in between.
Table 1. Chart Showing Glycemic Index of Common Foods

Glycemic Index of Cereals

Kellogg's All Bran 51
Kellogg's Bran Buds 45
Kellogg's Cornflakes 84
Kellogg's Rice Krispies 82
Kellogg's Special K 54
Oatmeal 49
Shredded Wheat 67
Quaker Puffed Wheat 67

Glycemic Index of Grains

Buckwheat 54
Bulgur 48
Basmati Rice 58
Brown Rice 55
Long grain White Rice 56
Short grain White Rice 72
Uncle Ben's Converted 44
Noodles (instant) 46
Taco Shells 68

Glycemic Index of Fruit

Apple 38
Banana 55
Cantaloupe 65
Cherries 22
Grapefruit 25
Grapes 46
Kiwi 52
Mango 55
Orange 44
Papaya 58
Pear 38
Pineapple 66
Plum 39
Watermelon 103

Glycemic Index of
Vegetables

Beets 69
Broccoli 10
Cabbage 10
Carrots 49
Corn 55
Green Peas 48
Lettuce 10
Mushrooms 10
Onions 10
Parsnips 97
Potato (baked) 93
Potato (mashed, instant) 86
Potato (new) 62
Potato (french fries) 75
Red Peppers 10
Pumpkin 75
Sweet Potato 54

Glycemic Index of Beans

Baked Beans 48
Broad Beans 79
Cannellini Beans 31
Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) 33
Lentils 30
Lima Beans 32
Navy Beans 38
Pinto Beans 39
Red Kidney Beans 27
Soy Beans 18
White Beans 31

Glycemic Index of Pasta

Spaghetti 43
Ravioli (meat) 39
Fettuccini (egg) 32
Spiral Pasta 43
Capellini 45
Linguine 46
Macaroni 47
Rice vermicelli 58

Glycemic Index of Breads
inc. Muffins & Cakes

Bagel 72
Blueberry Muffin 59
Croissant 67
Donut 76
Pita Bread 57
Pumpernickel Bread 51
Rye Bread 76
Sour Dough Bread 52
Sponge Cake 46
Stone Ground Whole wheat bread 53
Waffles 76
White Bread 70
Whole Wheat Bread 69

Glycemic Index of Dairy

Milk (whole) 22
Milk (skimmed) 32
Milk (chocolate flavored) 34
Ice Cream (whole) 61
Ice cream (low-fat) 50
Yogurt (low-fat) 33

Glycemic Index of Snacks

Cashews 22
Chocolate Bar 49
Corn Chips 72
Jelly Beans 80
Peanuts 14
Popcorn 55
Potato Chips 55
Pretzels 83
Snickers Bar 41
Walnuts 15

Glycemic Index of Cookies

Graham Crackers 74
Kavli Crispbread 71
Melba Toast 70
Oatmeal Cookies 55
Rice Cakes 82
Rice Crackers 91
Ryvita Crispbread 69
Soda Crackers 74
Shortbread Cookies 64
Stoned Wheat Thins 67
Vanilla Wafers
Water crackers 78

Glycemic Index of Sugars

Fructose 23
Glucose 100
Honey 58
Lactose 46
Maltose 105
Sucrose 65

For foods not in this list you can research on Google for more information.

Shanny · 01-30-2010, 21:57

Yay! Thanks Richard!

IHaveDiabetes · 02-01-2010, 17:52

I have always fount it interesting that (IMO) the glycemic index is not intuitive and does not coincide with the amount of carbs in a particular food. For instance, I would have thought that cherries would have a highter GI than watermellon. However, cherries not only have a low GI at 22, but watermellon has a very high GI almost five times that of cherries at 103. If you look at the carbs of each of these fruites, per 100 grams, watermellon (13.5 gm) has almost double the carbs as cherries (7.5 gm).

I was wondering if anyone's diet on here is based on the GI and what success they have had on it?

Thanks for posting the list!

Shanny · 02-01-2010, 20:12

My doctor said it when I was first diagnosed: Common sense indicates that if it tastes sweet, then it has lots of natural sugar, and it's still going to elevate your blood glucose.

I doubt that this list can serve as a blanket guide for all the different varieties . . . e.g., some cherries are very tart, but others are very sweet. The sweet cherries will have a higher GI index than sour ones. One size does not fit all, unfortunately!

Richard157 · 02-01-2010, 21:58

A cup of watermelon has a higher GI (Glycemic Index) but will raise your BG less than a cup of cherries because it has fewer carbs. The GI is not attempting to say what foods will give you the highest BG in the long run, it is used only to determine the foods that will give you a faster spike. The higher the GI, the faster the spike in your BG. Avoiding the foods with high GI numbers will prevent you from having as much BG during the first 1 or two hours after eating. Insulin users need to know this since they can give their insulin a chance to take effect before there is any significant spike. That results in a more overall stable control. Type 2 diabetics could exercise after a meal with lower GI foods and not experience very high BG before the exercise begins.