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  The Glycemic Index

 

The glycemic index (GI) is a numerical system of measuring how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers—the higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response.  So a low GI food will cause a small rise, while a high GI food will trigger a dramatic spike.  A list of carbohydrates with their glycemic values is shown below.  A GI of more than 70 is high, a GI of 55 to 70 inclusive is medium, and a GI of less than 55 is low.

Researchers have spent years debating what makes blood glucose levels too high.  Potential culprits have included sugar, carbohydrates in general, simple carbohydrates, starches, and more.  The glycemic index is one attempt to measure each individual food’s effect on blood glucose levels.

High Glycemic Index foods are linked to health problems

What researchers have learned is that high glycemic index foods generally make blood glucose levels higher.  In addition, people who eat a lot of high glycemic index foods tend to have greater levels of body fat,  

Low Glycemic Index foods are healthier choices

Low glycemic index foods generally (only generally) have less of an impact on blood glucose levels.  People who eat a lot of low glycemic index foods tend to have lower total body fat levels.

Glycemic Index and your diet

Below is a list of low (good), medium, and high (bad) glycemic index foods.  As a general rule, choose foods from the low and medium end of the glycemic index as often as you can.  But what can you do if you need to eat and a glycemic index food list is not available?  Keep this general principle in mind:

Unprocessed foods tend to have lower glycemic indices than refined foods.

Many packaged food products list the glycemic index, although it is not required.  For reference, use the glycemic index chart below to interpret the numbers. 

Low-Glycemic Index Foods: Less Than 55

Medium-Glycemic Index Foods: 55 to 70

High-Glycemic Index Foods:More Than 70

Artichoke <15

Asparagus <15

Avocado < 15

Broccoli <15

Cauliflower <15
Celery <15

Cucumber <15

Eggplant <15

Green beans <15

Lettuce, all varieties <15

Low-fat yogurt, artificially sweetened <15

Peanuts <15

Peppers, all varieties <15

Snow peas <15

Spinach <15

Young summer squash <15

Zucchini <15

Tomatoes 15

Cherries 22

Peas, dried 22

Plum 24

Grapefruit 25

Pearled barley 25

Peach 28

Canned peaches, natural juice 30

Dried apricots 31

Soy milk 30

Baby lima beans, frozen 32

Fat-free milk 32

* M&M's Chocolate Candies, Peanut 32

Low-fat yogurt, sugar sweetened 33

Apple 36

Pear 36

Whole wheat spaghetti 37

Tomato soup 38

Carrots, cooked 39

Mars Snickers Bar 40

Apple juice 41

All-Bran 42

Canned chickpeas 42

Custard 43

Grapes 43

Orange 43

Canned lentil soup 44

Canned pinto beans 45

Macaroni 45

Pineapple juice 46

Banana bread 47

Long-grain rice 47

Parboiled rice 47

Bulgur 48

Canned baked beans 48

Grapefruit juice 48

Green peas 48

Oat bran bread 48

Chocolate bar, 1.5 oz 49

Old-fashioned oatmeal 49

Cheese tortellini 50

* Low-fat ice cream 50

Canned kidney beans 52

Kiwifruit 52

Orange juice, not from concentrate 52

Banana 53

* Potato chips 54

* Pound cake 54

Special K 54

Sweet potato 54

Brown Rice 55

Canned fruit cocktail 55

Linguine 55

Oatmeal cookies 55

Popcorn 55

Sweet corn 55

Muesli 56

White rice 56

Orange juice from frozen concentrate 57

Pita bread 57

Canned peaches, heavy syrup 58

Mini shredded wheats 58

Bran Chex 58

Blueberry muffin 59

Bran muffin 60

Cheese pizza 60

Hamburger bun 61

Ice cream 61

Kudos Whole Grain Bars (chocolate chip) 61

Beets 64

Canned apricots, light syrup 64

Canned black bean soup 64

Macaroni and cheese 64

Raisins 64

Couscous 65

Quick-cooking oatmeal 65

Rye crisp-bread 65

Table sugar (sucrose) 65

Canned green pea soup 66

Instant oatmeal 66

Pineapple 66

Angel food cake 67

Grape-Nuts 67

Stoned Wheat Thins 67

American rye bread 68

Taco shells 68

Whole wheat bread 69

Life Savers 70

Melba toast 70

White bread 70

 

Golden Grahams 71

Bagel 72

Corn chips 72

Watermelon 72

Honey 73

Kaiser roll 73

Mashed potatoes 73

Bread stuffing mix 74

Cheerios 74

Cream of Wheat, instant 74

Graham crackers 74

Puffed wheat 74

Doughnuts 75

French fries 76

Frozen waffles 76

Total cereal 76

Vanilla wafers 77

Grape-Nuts Flakes 80

Jelly beans 80

Pretzels 81

Rice cakes 82

Rice Krispies 82

Corn Chex 83

Mashed potatoes, instant 83

Cornflakes 84

Baked potato 85

Rice Chex 89

Rice, instant 91

French bread 95

Parsnips 97

Dates 103

Tofu frozen dessert 115

 

*Eat these foods sparingly.