Glycemic Index

Glycemic Food Values

Low GI Food List Medium GI Food List High GI Food List
Diabetic GI List

Glycemic Index Value

The Glycemic Index Value tells you how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into glucose.

Glycemic Load

The Glycemic Load takes the quantity of available carbohydrates into
account.

Glycemic Index - What Is it ?

The Glycemic Index - ranks foods on how they affect your blood sugar level. This index measures how much your blood glucose increases in the two to three hours after eating.

When you make use of the glycemic index to prepare healthy meals, it helps to keep your blood glucose levels under control. This is especially important for people with diabetes, although athletes and people who are overweight also --- benefit from knowing about this.

Not all carbohydrates act the same. Some are quickly broken down in the intestine, causing the blood glucose level to rise rapidly. These carbohydrates have a high glycemic index. The GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into glucose.

Foods high in fiber such as, whole-grain rye bread and All-Bran cereal are rated low on the Glycemic Index because they do not produce a rapid rise in blood sugar after eating them.

Low-GI foods (less than 55) produce a gradual rise in blood sugar that's easy on the body. Foods between 55 and 70 are intermediate-GI foods. Foods with high-GI numbers (more than 70) make blood sugar as well as insulin levels spike fast. We now know that's a health threat.

Glycemic Index Range

Low GI = 55 or less
Medium GI = 56 - 69
High GI = 70 or more

Glycemic Load Range

Low GL = 10 or less
Medium GL = 11- 19
High GL = 20 or more

Glycemic Load / Day

Low GL < 80
High GL > 120

Is it a good way to lose weight?

No. The glycemic index is not a good way to lose weight. For weight control it is important to follow the recommendations made by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) who prepared the Food Guide Pyramid. You should concentrate on having a diet with a foundation in the grains, breads and cereals group (six - eleven servings each day), five or more servings from the fruits and vegetables group, two servings from the milk group and two servings from the meat group. With the new food guide pyramid you can individualize a diet for you which is dependant upon age, sex and activity level.

What are available carbohydrates?

Available carbohydrates are those that provide energy, i.e. starch and sugar, but not fiber.

The glycemic load (GL) is a way to evaluate the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, and gives a clearer picture than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food.

The glycemic load is the glycemic index divided by 100 multiplied by its available carbohydrate content (i.e. carbohydrates minus fiber) in grams. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, is pretty high, about 72. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low

Can adding more low-GI foods improve your health?

Mounting research suggests keeping blood sugar from spiking pays off in many ways. Low-GI foods appear to:

stave off heart disease
prevent type 2 diabetes
help you evade serious side effects if you have diabetes
curb your appetite so you lose weight
perhaps even help you feel more energetic

Is it difficult to use the GI in everyday life?

No. Just follow the advice of top GI expert Jennie Brand-Miller, PhD, University of Sydney, Australia.

Include at least one low-GI food at each meal or snack. You don't need to eliminate all high-GI foods, but you can use this guide to work toward more intermediate-GI and low-GI choices.