For those who have yet to get acquainted with the term ‘glycemic index, it is a value that is assigned to all sorts of foods based on how quickly or how slowly they cause an increase in one’s blood glucose levels.
Overly high blood glucose levels (also called blood sugar levels) can be very dangerous to one’s health. They can cause kidney failure, blindness, and increase one’s risk of cardiovascular disease.
In other words, they are toxic and one should avoid high blood sugar levels at all costs. Foods that rate low on the GI (glycemic index) scale have a tendency to release glucose steadily and slowly.
On the other hand, foods that rank high on the GI scale tend to release glucose at a much faster pace. And a rapid release of glucose into one’s system is no good for anyone.
So it’s no wonder that the foods low on the GI scale support lower size and number on the scale. But those high on the GI scale are also useful for something. Namely, they can help with the recovery of energy after a workout.
That is why long-distance runners, for example, would favor high glycemic foods, while those with prediabetes or diabetes would opt for the ones lower on the scale. This is because the steady release of glucose the low glycemic foods offer helps keep blood glucose under control.
Something every person with the condition could benefit from, and even those who do not have it.
But There’s More to It
The food’s glycemic index is not the entire story. It fails to inform one how high their blood sugar spikes when they are ingesting the food. This partly depends on the number of carbohydrates in the serving.
In order to understand the full effect each food has on us, we would not only need to know how quickly the glucose enters our bloodstream but also how much glucose is delivered in the first place.
This is where a different value called ‘glycemic load’ comes into the picture. We can determine it by first multiplying the grams of the carbs in a serving by the GI, then divide it by 100. A glycemic load above 20 is considered high, and one below 10 is considered low.
In order to help us fully understand how our blood glucose levels are impacted by what we eat, here is an abbreviated chart of 100 foods with their glycemic index and their glycemic load per serving.
| FOOD | Glycemic index (glucose = 100) | Serving size (grams) | Glycemic load per serving |
| BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BREAD | |||
| 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 muffin, made with rolled oats and sugar | 44 | 60 | 13 |
| Apple muffin, made with rolled oats and without sugar | 48 | 60 | 9 |
| Waffles, Aunt Jemima® | 76 | 35 | 10 |
| Bagel, white, frozen | 72 | 70 | 25 |
| Baguette, white, plain | 95 | 30 | 14 |
| Coarse barley bread, 80% kernels | 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, average | 75 | 30 | 11 |
| Wonder® bread, average | 73 | 30 | 10 |
| Whole wheat bread, average | 69 | 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® (US formula) | 63 | 250 mL | 16 |
| Fanta®, orange soft drink | 68 | 250 mL | 23 |
| Lucozade®, original (sparkling glucose drink) | 95 | 250 mL | 40 |
| Apple juice, unsweetened | 41 | 250 mL | 12 |
| Cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray®) | 68 | 250 mL | 24 |
| Gatorade, orange flavor (US formula) | 89 | 250 mL | 13 |
| Orange juice, unsweetened, average | 50 | 250 mL | 12 |
| Tomato juice, canned, no sugar added | 38 | 250 mL | 4 |
| BREAKFAST CEREALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS | |||
| All-Bran®, average | 44 | 30 | 9 |
| Coco Pops®, average | 77 | 30 | 20 |
| Cornflakes®, average | 81 | 30 | 20 |
| Cream of Wheat® | 66 | 250 | 17 |
| Cream of Wheat®, Instant | 74 | 250 | 22 |
| Grape-Nuts® | 75 | 30 | 16 |
| Muesli, average | 56 | 30 | 10 |
| Oatmeal, average | 55 | 250 | 13 |
| Instant oatmeal, average | 79 | 250 | 21 |
| Puffed wheat cereal | 80 | 30 | 17 |
| Raisin Bran® | 61 | 30 | 12 |
| Special K® (US formula) | 69 | 30 | 14 |
| GRAINS | |||
| Pearled barley, average | 25 | 150 | 11 |
| Sweet corn on the cob | 48 | 60 | 14 |
| Couscous | 65 | 150 | 9 |
| Quinoa | 53 | 150 | 13 |
| White rice, boiled, type non-specified | 72 | 150 | 29 |
| Quick-cooking white basmati | 63 | 150 | 26 |
| Brown rice, steamed | 50 | 150 | 16 |
| Parboiled Converted white rice (Uncle Ben’s®) | 38 | 150 | 14 |
| Whole wheat kernels, average | 45 | 50 | 15 |
| Bulgur, average | 47 | 150 | 12 |
| COOKIES AND CRACKERS | |||
| Graham crackers | 74 | 25 | 13 |
| 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, average | 62 | 50 | 8 |
| Ice cream, premium (Sara Lee®) | 38 | 50 | 3 |
| Milk, full-fat, average | 31 | 250 mL | 4 |
| Milk, skim, average | 31 | 250 mL | 4 |
| Reduced-fat yogurt with fruit, average | 33 | 200 | 11 |
| FRUITS | |||
| Apple, average | 36 | 120 | 5 |
| Banana, raw, average | 48 | 120 | 11 |
| Dates, dried, average | 42 | 60 | 18 |
| Grapefruit | 25 | 120 | 3 |
| Grapes, black | 59 | 120 | 11 |
| Oranges, raw, average | 45 | 120 | 5 |
| Peach, average | 42 | 120 | 5 |
| Peach, canned in light syrup | 52 | 120 | 9 |
| Pear, raw, average | 38 | 120 | 4 |
| Pear, canned in pear juice | 44 | 120 | 5 |
| Prunes pitted | 29 | 60 | 10 |
| Raisins | 64 | 60 | 28 |
| Watermelon | 72 | 120 | 4 |
| BEANS AND NUTS | |||
| Baked beans | 40 | 150 | 6 |
| Black-eyed peas | 50 | 150 | 15 |
| Black beans | 30 | 150 | 7 |
| Chickpeas | 10 | 150 | 3 |
| Chickpeas, canned in brine | 42 | 150 | 9 |
| Navy beans, average | 39 | 150 | 12 |
| Kidney beans, average | 34 | 150 | 9 |
| Lentils | 28 | 150 | 5 |
| Soybeans, average | 15 | 150 | 1 |
| Cashews, salted | 22 | 50 | 3 |
| Peanuts | 13 | 50 | 1 |
| PASTA and NOODLES | |||
| Fettucini | 32 | 180 | 15 |
| Macaroni, average | 50 | 180 | 24 |
| Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft®) | 64 | 180 | 33 |
| Spaghetti, white, boiled, average | 46 | 180 | 22 |
| Spaghetti, white, boiled 20 min | 58 | 180 | 26 |
| Spaghetti, whole-grain, boiled | 42 | 180 | 17 |
| SNACK FOODS | |||
| Corn chips, plain, salted | 42 | 50 | 11 |
| Fruit Roll-Ups® | 99 | 30 | 24 |
| M & M’s®, peanut | 33 | 30 | 6 |
| Microwave popcorn, plain, average | 65 | 20 | 7 |
| Potato chips, average | 56 | 50 | 12 |
| Pretzels, oven-baked | 83 | 30 | 16 |
| Snickers Bar®, average | 51 | 60 | 18 |
| VEGETABLES | |||
| Green peas | 54 | 80 | 4 |
| Carrots, average | 39 | 80 | 2 |
| Parsnips | 52 | 80 | 4 |
| Baked russet potato | 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 |
Source: Harvard | Huffington Post
