Glycemic Index Chart - The lower the number, the better!
Everyone seems to be looking for that burst of energy that lasts all day long. We get tired of suffering from chronic fatigue. Even in today’s modern medical circles there seems to be confusion to what is the cause and the cure to this problem.
And this problem is compounded for diabetes whom have been taught for years that raw sugars are bad but some very fast motabilized grain products are good. Enter the glycemic index chart, or GI chart for short. the Glycemic Index standard was proposed in 1981 at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Glycemic Index and How it Affects You
The glycemic index allows us to see the rate of digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and not the amount of carbohydrates. It surprises people that I talk to when I tell them that your body with break down the starches in standard sandwich bread into usable sugars much fast then it can break down raw sugar.
The Glycemic Index factor was developed on the concept that foods will be ranked on a scale from 0 to 100, according to their actual effect on blood-glucose levels. For example, glucose registers as 100, since it causes the greatest and most rapid rise in blood glucose and all other foods are rated in comparison to blood glucose.
Also, eating high GI carbohydrates will hinder the fat burning process and also will decrease energy levels. This effect is because the body will produce excessive amounts of insulin to break down the sugars introduced into the body to match the high rate of absorbsion of the food sugars. When you over produce insulin and your body clears of the extra sugars, your body will actually have lower then proper sugar levels and therefore produce the lethargic state.
Glycemic Index Chart
Below is a glycemic index list of common foods and their related glycemic index rating. Amounts are based on 50 grams of carbohydrate per serving.
- High glycemic index food is more then 70.
- Immediate glycemic index food is between 55 and 70
- Low glycemic index food is less then 55.
Breads, Grains and Pasta
baguette-95
rice pasta,brown-92
instant rice-91
kaiser roll - 73
bagel -72
white bread -70
wholemeal bread -69
rye flour bread 64
macaroni cheese-64
hamburger bun- 61
pita bread-57
white rice -56
brown rice 55
sourdough bread - 52
linguine-50
multigrain bread- 48
bulgur-48
converted rice -47
macaroni-45
spaghetti, white -41
ravioli, meat filled-39
spaghetti, whole wheat- 37
spaghetti, protein enriched-27
barley -25
Cereals
Rice Krispies-82
Grapenut flakes- 80
Cornflakes-77
Weetabix-77
Total -76
Puffed wheat-74
Cheerios-74
Shredded Wheat -69
Oatmeal-61
Mini Wheats (wholemeal)-57
Museli-56
Oatbran-55
Porridge, non instant-49
All Bran-42
Cakes and Biscuits
Rice cakes-82
Wafer biscuits 77
Doughnut -76
Waffles-76
Ryvita -67
Croissant -67
Shortbread -64
Muffin (unsweetened)-62
Danish pastry -59
Potatoes - root crop
parsnips 97
baked potatoes-83
instant potatoes- 83
chips- 75
mashed potatoes- 73
beetroot-64
new potatoes- 57
boiled potatoes- 56
sweet potatoes-54
yam-51
Fruits
dates,dried-103
watermelon-72
pineapple-66
raisins-64
apricots -57
mangoes-56
fruit cocktail-55
banana -53
kiwi fruit-53
grapes -52
canned peach 47
orange -43
peaches-42
blueberries -40
plums-39
pear -36
apple -36
strawberries-32
raspberries-32
blackberries-32
dried apricots- 30
grapefruit-25
cherries-22
Snacks
rice cakes -82
pretzels- 81
jelly beans-80
waffles- 76
doughnut- 76
soda crackers - 74
corn chips -72
*mars bars-68
ryvita -67
wheat crackers -67
rye crisp bread -63
power bar -57
popcorn -55
oatmeal cookies-55
potato chips/crisps-54
chocolate -49
banana cake-47
peanuts-14
Vegetables
sweet corn- 55
green peas-48
carrots,cooked-39
green beans-15
peppers-15
spinach -15
tomatoes- 15
artichoke -15
asparagus-15
broccoli-15
cauliflower-15
celery -15
cucumber -15
lettuce -15
Legumes
Baked Beans-48
Chickpean,tinned-42
Haricot Beans-38
Chick peas-33
Butter beans-31
Lentils-29
Kidney Beans-27
Soy Nuts-18
Dairy
Ice cream-61
Ice cream (low fat) 50
Milk, semi-skimmed 34
Chocolate milk- 34
Fruit yogurt, low fat-33
Milk-Skim-32
Milk -Fat-free-32
Soy Milk- 31
Milk, full fat -27
Yogurt, plain, unsweetened, low fat-14
Sugars
Maltose-105
Glucose-100
Honey-73
Sucrose-65
Table sugar-65
Lactose-46
Fructose-23
Beverages
Gatorade-78
Soft drinks,fanta-68
Colas-65
Orange juice-57
Grapefruit juice-48
Pineapple juice -46
Apple Juice,unsweetened-41
Add to the Glycemic Index List
If you have more entries you’ll like to add to this incomplete list, please feel free to post your comments with them in it. Also, I’m looking for other folks like myself who have a story, or information to tell concerning glycemic indexing.
Thanks!
Frank Thomas
