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Glycemic index and glycemic load for 100+ foods

Measuring carbohydrate e!ects can help glucose management
Updated: August 27, 2015 Published: February, 2015

The glycemic index is a value assigned to foods based on how slowly or how quickly those foods
cause increases in blood glucose levels. Also known as "blood sugar," blood glucose levels above
normal are toxic and can cause blindness, kidney failure, or increase cardiovascular risk. Foods
low on the glycemic index (GI) scale tend to release glucose slowly and steadily. Foods high on
the glycemic index release glucose rapidly. Low GI foods tend to foster weight loss, while foods
high on the GI scale help with energy recovery after exercise, or to offset hypo- (or insufficient)
glycemia. Long-distance runners would tend to favor foods high on the glycemic index, while
people with pre- or full-blown diabetes would need to concentrate on low GI foods. Why? People
with diabetes can't produce sufficient quantities of insulin—which helps process blood sugar—which means they are likely to have an excess of
blood glucose. The slow and steady release of glucose in low-glycemic foods is helpful in keeping blood glucose under control.

But the glycemic index of foods tells only part of the story. What it doesn't tell you is how high your blood sugar could go when you actually eat
the food, which is partly determined by how much carbohydrate is in an individual serving. To understand a food's complete effect on blood
sugar, you need to know both how quickly the food makes glucose enter the bloodstream, and how much glucose it will deliver. A separate
value called glycemic load does that. It gives a more accurate picture of a food's real-life impact on blood sugar. The glycemic load is determined
by multiplying the grams of a carbohydrate in a serving by the glycemic index, then dividing by 100. A glycemic load of 10 or below is considered
low; 20 or above is considered high. Watermelon, for example, has a high glycemic index (80). But a serving of watermelon has so little
carbohydrate (6 grams) that its glycemic load is only 5.

To help you understand how the foods you are eating might impact your blood glucose level, here is an abbreviated chart of the glycemic index
and glycemic load, per serving, for more than 100 common foods. A more complete glycemix index chart can be found in the link below.

FOOD Glycemic index (glucose = Serving size Glycemic load per

100) (grams) 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 42 111 24
Crocker)

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

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

Soy beans, 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

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 80 100 22
tomato sauce

Pizza, Super Supreme (Pizza Hut®) 36 100 9

Honey, average 61 25 12

The complete list of the glycemic index and glycemic load for more than 1,000 foods can be found in the article "International tables of glycemic
index and glycemic load values: 2008" by Fiona S. Atkinson, Kaye Foster-Powell, and Jennie C. Brand-Miller in the December 2008 issue of
Diabetes Care {http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/31/12/2281.full}, Vol. 31, number 12, pages 2281-2283.

To get the lowdown on glycemic index and glycemic load, read more about it here. {http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-
conditions/the-lowdown-on-glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load}

image: © Amarosy | Dreamstime.com

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