Glycemic index
and glycemic load are the measure of food's potential to rise
body's blood glucose level. They are a handy tool for making sure
that your diet avoids both, chronic excess
and unhealthy surges in blood glucose level.
Glucose
metabolism is key energy source for the body, enabling it to
keep functioning from one moment to another. It is no wonder that
glucose blood level can profoundly affect body functioning; too little
means starvation and death, too much - health trouble and shorter
lifespan. A healthy diet should keep it from becoming chronically
high, as well as from having frequent surges.
Glucose being sugar means that foods with the greatest
potential to shift blood glucose levels up are those rich in
carbohydrates, particularly in sugars and/or highly processed,
refined complex carbohydrates. They are converted into glucose too
quickly, forcing the body to react and adjust. If occurring
regularly, for prolonged periods of time, this can wear out body
organs, like pancreas, resulting in
insulin insensitivity and diabetes.
It can also negatively affect other body functions in unpredictable, complex ways,
down to the cellular level.
Not all carbohydrates are created equal; some have
higher conversion rate to glucose than others. For that reason,
glucose-rising potential varies from one food to another. It is
expressed as a numerical value, called
glycemic index.
The bigger number, the higher conversion rate to glucose for the
food.
But the effect on glucose level also depends on
the quantity of food carbohydrate content; high glycemic index alone
will not produce significant effect if carbohydrate content of food
- i.e. amount of its carbohydrates consumed - is low. In order to
factor in both, glycemic index of food's carbohydrates and their
relative content, a more complete measure, called
glycemic load,
is used.
Glycemic load of a particular food is usually
obtained by dividing its glycemic index by 100, and multiplying it
with food's carbohydrate content in grams. It indicates the actual
glucose-rising potential of food for a given quantity.
Following table lists glycemic index (GI,
glucose=100) and
glycemic load (GL) for some common foods. Glycemic load is given
for
100g of food, so that different foods can be directly compared with
respect to their glucose-rising potential. The % carb. column gives
gives percentage of carbohydrates by weight; numerically it equals
grams of carbohydrates in 100g of food.
Foods with glycemic load value 25<GL<50 are color coded as "high"
and those with loads over 50 as "very high" in glucose-rising
potential.
GI=glycemic index
GL=glycemic load,
___ high
___
very high
Pizza, plain baked dough,
served with parmesan cheese and tomato sauce (Italy)
80
27
22
Pizza, Super Supreme, pan
(11.4% fat)
36
24
9
Pizza, Super Supreme, thin and
crispy
30
22
7
Pizza, Vegetarian Supreme, thin and crispy
(7.8% fat)
49
25
12
Sausages
28
3
1
Spaghetti bolognaise, homemade
52
13
6.9
Sushi
52
37
19
White bread with
toppings
White bread with butter
59
48
29
White bread with skim milk
cheese
55
47
26
White and whole-meal wheat
bread with peanut butter
59
44
26
PASTA AND NOODLES
Capellini
45
25
11
Corn pasta, gluten-free
78
23
18
Fettucine, egg
40
26
10
Instant noodles
47
22
11
Linguine
46
27
12
Macaroni
47
27
13
Ravioli, durum wheat flour,
meat-filled
39
21
8.3
Rice noodles, freshly made,
boiled
40
22
8.3
Rice pasta, brown, boiled 16
min
92
21
19
Spaghetti, white, boiled 5 min
32
27
8.3
Spaghetti, white or type NS,
boiled
44
27
12
Spirali, durum wheat, white,
boiled
43
24
11
SNACK FOODS AND
CONFECTIONERY
Chocolate, milk, plain
43
56
24
Chocolate, white
44
58
26
Corn chips
63
52
33
Apricot filled fruit bar
50
68
34
Jelly beans
78
93
73
Mars Bar (M & M/Mars, USA)
68
67
45
Popcorn
72
55
40
Pop Tarts, double chocolate
70
70
48
Potato crisps
54
42
22
Pretzels, oven-baked,
traditional wheat
83
67
53
Snack bar, apple cinnamon
40
58
24
Snack bar, peanut butter and
choc-chip
37
54
20
Nuts
Cashew nuts, salted
22
26
6
Peanuts
14
12
2
SPORTS BARS
Power Bar
56
65
37
Ironman PR bar,
chocolate
39
40
15
SOUPS
Black bean
64
11
6.8
Green pea, canned
66
16
11
Lentil, canned
44
8.5
1.6
Minestrone,
Traditional
39
7.2
2.8
Noodle soup
(traditional Turkish with stock and noodles)
1
3.6
0
Split pea
60
11
6.4
Tomato soup
38
6.8
2.4
SUGARS AND SUGAR
ALCOHOLS
Organic agave cactus nectar,
light
11
80
10
Fructose
19
100
20
Glucose
99
100
100
Honey
55
72
40
Lactose
46
100
47
Maltose
105
100
105
Sucrose
68
100
69
Malbit CH (99% maltitol)
73
100
71
Xylitol
8
100
9
VEGETABLES
Broad beans
79
14
11
Green peas
48
8.8
3.8
Pumpkin
75
5
3.8
Sweet corn
54
21
11
Root vegetables
Beetroot
64
8.8
6.2
Carrots, raw
16
10
1.3
Cassava, boiled, with salt
46
27
12
Parsnips
97
15
15
Potato
Ontario, white, baked in skin
60
20
12
Baked, russet Burbank potatoes
85
20
17
Boiled or cooked, white
50
19
9.3
Canned potatoes
63
12
7.3
French fries, frozen, reheated
in microwave
75
19
15
Instant mashed potato
85
13
11
Mashed potato
74
13
10
French fries, frozen, reheated in
microwave
75
19
15
Potato, peeled, steamed 1 h
65
18
12
Sweet potato
61
19
11
Tapioca (Manihot
utilissima), steamed
70
7.2
4.9
Yam
37
24
8.7
Arabic and Turkish
Hummus (chickpea salad dip)
6
17
1
Lebanese bread (white, unleaved), hummus,
falafel and tabbouleh
86
38
33
Stuffed grapevine leaves (rice
and lamb)
30
15
5
Turkish bread,
white-wheat flour
87
57
50
Turkish bread,
whole wheat
49
51
27
Asian
Curry rice (Japan)
67
41
27
Jasmine rice, white, cooked in rice cooker
109
28
31
Low-protein white rice with dried sea
70
40
28
White rice with salted dried plum (umeboshi)
(Japan)
80
33
26
White rice with sea algae rolled in sheet of
toasted sea algae (Japan)
77
34
26
South American
Corn
tortilla (Mexican)
52
48
24
Wheat tortilla (Mexican)
30
52
16
Wheat tortilla served with refried pinto beans and tomato
sauce
28
18
5
The data presented is for selected foods from the
International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values 2002,
by Kaye Foster-Powell,
Susanna HA Holt, and Janette C Brand-Miller. Glycemic index for most
foods is determined based on time period of 2 to 3 hours from
consumption. Some values are slightly rounded, and some more widely
used foods have averaged value based on up to several sources. Note
that all three values GI, % carb. and GL, vary somewhat with actual
foods.
Bakery products, breads,
snack foods, white bread and Asian foods tend to have high glycemic
load; breakfast cereals and cookies tend to be high to very high.
Whole grains tend to cross into high if measured by dry weight, but no one eats
them dry; they are low when cooked, and tend to be moderate in
whole-grain breads. Most other foods in the table are moderate to low, including pasta
(surprise, surprise).
It should be noted that most any
carbohydrate-containing food, if processed or made to have its
carbohydrate content highly concentrated and/or significant amount
of sugars added,
can be
turned into high to very high glycemic load food.
For that reason, checking out the label for
sugar and refined carbohydrate content is generally recommended with processed
foods.
Also, some foods cause insulin response
disproportionate to their glycemic index/load, and some foods with
little or no carbohydrates - like lean meat and protein in general -
still can cause significant insulin response. Since it is insulin
and related metabolic pathways that are instrumental to adverse
health effect of high-glycemic diets, this is something to keep in
mind. More recent measure for food effect on the insulin level
itself is insulin index;
however, available database is still rather limited.
The best bet is, as always, balanced, diversified
diet. Occasional high-glycemic food, in moderation, is not
likely to do harm, unless the insulin regulatory pathway is already
seriously compromised by a disease, by far the most widespread form
being diabetes.
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