The Glycemic Index (GI) is a scale from 1-100 that shows how quickly or slowly a food raises your blood sugar. Foods are assigned a value based on one serving eaten alone.
0 to 55 = low glycemic
56-69 = medium glycemic
70-100 = high glycemic
Glycemic index is determined by the foods nutritional information, such as, the number of carbohydrates, the type of carbohydrates (whether it is simple or complex), amount of fiber, fat and protein in one serving.
When a food has other nutrients that the body needs to process, like fiber, fat and protein, the break down is even slower, causing carbohydrates to enter the blood stream at a slower rate.
If you are concerned that a food has too many sugars or carbs, than you can lower the glycemic index by eating it with another food that contains significant fat, fiber, or protein.
Low Glycemic Foods0-55 | Medium Glycemic Foods56-70 | High Glycemic Foods70+ |
Most non-starchy vegetables <15Peanuts <15Low fat yogurt, no sugar <15Tomatoes 15Cherries 22Peas 22Plum 22Grapefruit 25Pearled Barley 25Peach 28Canned Peaches/natural juice 30Soy Milk 30Baby lima beans 32Fat Free Milk 32Low fat yogurt, with sugar 33Apple 36Pear 36Whole wheat spaghetti 37Tomato soup 38Carrots, cooked 39Apple juice 41All-Bran 42Canned chick peas 42Custard 43Grapes 43Orange 43Macaroni 45Pineapple juice 46Banana Bread 47Long grain rice 47Bulgur 48Canned baked beans 48Grapefruit juice 48Green peas 48Oat Bran Bread 48 | Canned kidney beans 52Kiwi 52Orange Juice 52Banana 53Potato Chips 54Special K 54Sweet potato 54Brown rice 54Linguini 55Oatmeal cookies 55Popcorn 55Sweet corn 55White rice 56Pita bread 57Blue berry muffin 59Bran muffin 60Hamburger bun 61Ice Cream 61Canned Apricot, light syrup 64Macaroni and cheese 64Raisin 64Couscous 65Quick Cook Porridge 65Table sugar (sucrose) 65Instant Porridge 66Pineapple 66Taco Shells 68Whole wheat bread 68 | Bagel 72Corn Chips 7 |
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