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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, whilepeople 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 ofblood 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 bloodsugar, 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 determinedby 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 per100)(grams)serving

Banana cake, made with sugar

4760

14Banana cake, made without sugar

5560

12Sponge cake, plain

4663

17

Vanilla cake made from packet mix with vanilla frosting (Betty42111

24

Apple muffin, made with rolled oats and sugar

44

60

13Apple muffin, made with rolled oats and without sugar

48

60

9Waffles, Aunt Jemima®

76

35

10Bagel, white, frozen

72

70

25

Baguette, white, plain

9530

14

BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BREADSCrocker)

Coarse barley bread, 80% kernels

3430

7Hamburger bun

61

30

9Kaiser roll73

30

12Pumpernickel bread

5630

750% cracked wheat kernel bread

5830

12White wheat flour bread, average

75

30

11Wonder® bread, average

73

30

10Whole wheat bread, average

6930

9100% Whole Grain® bread (Natural Ovens)

51

30

7Pita bread, white68

30

10Corn tortilla

52

50

12Wheat tortilla30

50

8Coca Cola® (US formula)

63

250 mL

16Fanta®, orange soft drink

68

250 mL

23

Lucozade®, original (sparkling glucose drink)
Apple juice, unsweetened

95
41

250 mL
250 mL40
12

Cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray®)68

250 mL24

Gatorade, orange flavor (US formula)

89250 mL

13

Orange juice, unsweetened, average

50

250 mL

12Tomato juice, canned, no sugar added38

250 mL4All-Bran®, average

44

30

9Coco Pops®, average

77

30

20Cornflakes®, average

81

30

20

Cream of Wheat®

66

250

17

Cream of Wheat®, Instant

74

250

22

Grape-Nuts®

75

30

16Muesli, average

56

30

10Oatmeal, average

55

250

13Instant oatmeal, average

79

250

21

Puffed wheat cereal

8030

17Raisin Bran®

6130

12Special K® (US formula)

69

30

1425

150

11BEVERAGESBREAKFAST CEREALS AND RELATED PRODUCTSGRAINS
Pearled barley, averagePearled barley, average

25150

11

Sweet corn on the cob

48

60

14Couscous

65

150

9Quinoa

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

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

11Soda crackers

74

25

12

Ice cream, regular, average

62

50

8Ice cream, premium (Sara Lee®)

38

50

3Milk, full-fat, average

31250 mL

4Milk, skim, average

31250 mL

4Reduced-fat yogurt with fruit, average

33

200

11Apple, average

36

120

5Banana, raw, average

48

120

11Dates, dried, average

4260

18

Grapefruit

25

120

3Grapes, black

59

120

11Oranges, raw, average

45

120

5Peach, average

42

120

5Peach, canned in light syrup
Pear, raw, average

52
38

120
120

94Pear, canned in pear juice

44120

5Prunes, pitted

2960

10Raisins

6460

28

COOKIES AND CRACKERSDAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVESFRUITSWatermelon

72120

4Baked beans

40150

6Black-eyed peas

50150

15Black beans

30150

7Chickpeas

10150

3Chickpeas, canned in brine

42150

9Navy beans, average

39150

12Kidney beans, average

34150

9Lentils

28150

5

Soy beans, average

15150

1Cashews, salted

2250

3Peanuts1350

1Fettucini

32180

15

Macaroni, average

50180

24

Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft®)

64

180

33

Spaghetti, white, boiled, average

46180

22

Spaghetti, white, boiled 20 min58

180

26

Spaghetti, whole-grain, boiled

4218017Corn chips, plain, salted

4250

11Fruit Roll-Ups®

9930

24

M & M's®, peanut

33

30

6

Microwave popcorn, plain, average

65

20

7Potato chips, average

5650

12Pretzels, oven-baked

83

30

16Snickers Bar®, average

51

60

18

Green peas

5480

4Carrots, average

3980

2Parsnips

52

80

4

Baked russet potato

111

150

33

Boiled white potato, average

82

150

21

Instant mashed potato, average

87150

17

Sweet potato, average

70

150

22

BEANS AND NUTSPASTA and NOODLESSNACK FOODSVEGETABLES

Sweet potato, average

70

150

22Yam, average

54150

20Hummus (chickpea salad dip)630

0Chicken nuggets, frozen, reheated in microwave oven 5 min

46100

7Pizza, plain baked dough, served with parmesan cheese and80

100

22Pizza, Super Supreme (Pizza Hut®)

36100

9Honey, average

6125

12MISCELLANEOUS

tomato sauce

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 ofDiabetes 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-andconditions/the-lowdown-on-glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load}
image: © Amarosy | Dreamstime.com
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