Research Corner

Question

I was wondering if you had a list/reference showing the glycemic index of popular food choices?

Answer:

Following are tables (Table 1;Table 2) showing the glycemic index (GI) of several foods^1,2. In addition to the GI, a newer measure called the glycemic load (GL) is included in Table 1. The GI essentially tells one how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns is converted to glucose and causes blood sugar (BS) to rise. This leads to an incomplete picture of the impact of some foods. The GL reflects the carbohydrate content of a particular food. It is derived by taking the glycemic index of a food and multiplying it by its grams of carbohydrate per serving, then expressed as a percentage. This helps to put food choices into perspective. A carrot, certainly an evil food if judged solely on its GI, has a low GL; there isn’t much carbohydrate or sugar in it (per serving). I am sure no sane person wishes to go on record saying that carrots lead to obesity. The idea is to strive to consume a diet that is lower in glycemic load, not just glycemic index. GL then, gives us a better idea of how foods, and one’s diet, affect the body and ultimately/potentially one’s health. 

 Scott Pullen

Nutrition Specialist

Senior National Lecturer

Apex Fitness Group, Inc.

 

Table 1. Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of Representative Foods

FOOD	GLYCEMIC INDEX	GLYCEMIC LOAD
Instant Rice	91	24.8 (110g)
Baked Potato	85	20.3 (110g)
Corn Flakes	84	21 (225ml)
Carrot	71	3.8 (55g)
White Bread	70	21 (2 slices)
Rye Bread	65	19.5 (2 slices)
Muesli	56	16.8 (110ml)
Banana	53	13.3 (170g)
Spaghetti	41	16.4 (55g)
Apple	36	8.1 (170g)
Lentil Beans	29	5.7 (110ml)
Milk	27	3.2 (225ml)
Peanuts	14	.7 (30g)

* GI based upon glucose at 100.

** Numbers in parentheses represents serving size

Table 2. Foods and their Glycemic Index

FOOD	GLYCEMIC INDEX
All-Bran Cereal	42
Bagel (plain, frozen)	72
Black-eyed-peas	42
Brown Rice	55
Bulgur	48
Chocolate	49
Corn chips	73
Corn Flakes	84
Couscous	65
Fructose	23
Garbanzo Beans	33
Grapefruit	25
Grape-Nuts	67
Grapes	43
Honey	73
Ice Cream	61
Jelly Beans	80
Kidney Beans	27
Melba Toast Crackers	70
Oatmeal Cookie	55
Orange	43
Orange Juice	57
Peas	48
Popcorn	55
Potato (baked)	85
Puffed Wheat	74
Rice Cakes (plain)	82
Shredded Wheat	69
Skim Milk	32
Sucrose	65
Sweet potato	54
Vanilla Wafers	77
Waffle	76
Watermelon	72
White Rice (not instant)	56-88 (depends on starch content)
Whole Milk	27
Yogurt, fruit, sugar sweetened	33

 

*GI based upon glu

 

 ¹ Ludwig, DS. The Glycemic Index: Physiological Mechanisms Relating to Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA 2002; 287 (18): 2414-2423

² Foster-Powell, K, Miller, JB. International Tables of Glycemic Index. AJCN, 1995; 62: 871S-893S.