Glycemic Index Diet

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Glycemic Index of Foods

The Glycemic Index tells us how quickly a food that you eat raises your blood sugar, and therefore causes a surge in insulin release from your pancreas. Insulin is what tells our bodies to store the extra calories as fat.

Foods with a low glycemic index don't cause such a huge rise in blood sugar, thereby limiting insulin release and limits storing calories as fat.

Further, foods with a high glycemic index will cause you to feel extremely hungry later on. In about 3-4 hours you will start to feel extremely hungry and want to eat anything and everything in sight. Why?

If you eat a large, high glycemic index food now, like beer or white bread, your blood sugar will rise to very high levels, very quickly. This causes a subsequent rise in the amount of insulin your pancreas releases. Insulin lasts longer in your blood stream and your sugar will eventually fall to lower levels than your baseline. This lower sugar (hypoglycemia) will cause your body to go into distress mode and it will make you feel very hungry. You will have to satisfy this craving and will mostly likely reach for something very sweet that has a high glycemic index. This starts the viscious cycle all over again.

We have to try and avoid this situation by eating foods that have a low glycemic index. Take a look at the charts and tables on this page and the following pages for a look at which foods in each category have the lowest and highest glycemic index.

You will notice that beer (maltose) is the worst of all, while most vegetables are very low. Foods with a GI (Glycemic Index) lower than 55 are considered Low. Foods with a GI of 55-70 are considered Medium. Foods with a GI over 70 are considered High.

Food List	Rating	Food Glycemic Index
Baked Goods
*Pound cake	Low	54
Danish pastry	Medium	59
Muffin (unsweetened)	Medium	62
Cake , tart	Medium	65
Cake, angel	Medium	67
Croissant	Medium	67
Waffles	High	76
Doughnut	High	76
Beverages
Soya milk	Low	30
Apple juice	Low	41
Carrot juice	Low	45
Pineapple juice	Low	46
Grapefruit juice	Low	48
Orange juice	Low	52
Biscuits
Digestives	Medium	58
Shortbread	Medium	64
Water biscuits	Medium	65
Ryvita	Medium	67
Wafer biscuits	High	77
**Rice cakes	High	77
Breads
Multi grain bread	Low	48
Whole grain	Low	50
Pita bread, white	Medium	57
Pizza, cheese	Medium	60
Hamburger bun	Medium	61
Rye-flour bread	Medium	64
Whole meal bread	Medium	69
White bread	High	71
White rolls	High	73
Baguette	High	95
Breakfast Cereals
All-Bran	Low	42
Porridge, non instant	Low	49
Oat bran	Medium	55
Muesli	Medium	56
Mini Wheats (wholemeal)	Medium	57
Shredded Wheat	Medium	69
Golden Grahams	High	71
Puffed wheat	High	74
Weetabix	High	77
Rice Krispies	High	82
Cornflakes	High	83
Cereal Grains
Pearl barley	Low	25
Rye	Low	34
Wheat kernels	Low	41
Rice, instant	Low	46
Rice, parboiled	Low	48
Barley, cracked	Low	50
Rice, brown	Medium	55
Rice, wild	Medium	57
Rice, white	Medium	58
Barley, flakes	Medium	66
Taco Shell	Medium	68
Millet	High	71
Dairy Foods
Yogurt low- fat (sweetened)	Low	14
Milk, chocolate	Low	24
Milk, whole	Low	27
Milk, Fat-free	Low	32
Milk ,skimmed	Low	32
Milk, semi-skimmed	Low	34
*Ice-cream (low- fat)	Low	50
*Ice-cream	Medium	61
Fruits
Cherries	Low	22
Grapefruit	Low	25
Apricots (dried)	Low	31
Apples	Low	38
Pears	Low	38
Plums	Low	39
Peaches	Low	42
Oranges	Low	44
Grapes	Low	46
Kiwi fruit	Low	53
Bananas	Low	54
Fruit cocktail	Medium	55
Mangoes	Medium	56
Apricots	Medium	57
Apricots (tinned in syrup)	Medium	64
Raisins	Medium	64
Pineapple	Medium	66
**Watermelon	High	72
Pasta
Spaghetti, protein enriched	Low	27
Fettuccine	Low	32
Vermicelli	Low	35
Spaghetti, whole wheat	Low	37
Ravioli, meat filled	Low	39
Spaghetti, white	Low	41
Macaroni	Low	45
Spaghetti, durum wheat	Medium	55
Macaroni cheese	Medium	64
Rice pasta, brown	High	92
Root Crop
Carrots, cooked	Low	39
Yam	Low	51
Sweet potato	Low	54
Potato, boiled	Medium	56
Potato, new	Medium	57
Potato, tinned	Medium	61
Beetroot	Medium	64
Potato, steamed	Medium	65
Potato, mashed	Medium	70
Chips	High	75
Potato, micro waved	High	82
Potato, instant	High	83
**Potato, baked	High	85
Parsnips	High	97
Snack Food and Sweets
Peanuts	Low	15
*M&Ms (peanut)	Low	32
*Snickers bar	Low	40
*Chocolate bar; 30g	Low	49
Jams and marmalades	Low	49
*Crisps	Low	54
Popcorn	Medium	55
Mars bar	Medium	64
*Table sugar (sucrose)	Medium	65
Corn chips	High	74
Jelly beans	High	80
Pretzels	High	81
Dates	High	103
Soups
Tomato soup, tinned	Low	38
Lentil soup, tinned	Low	44
Black bean soup, tinned	Medium	64
Green pea soup, tinned	Medium	66
Vegetable and Beans
Artichoke	Low	15
Asparagus	Low	15
Broccoli	Low	15
Cauliflower	Low	15
Celery	Low	15
Cucumber	Low	15
Eggplant	Low	15
Green beans	Low	15
Lettuce, all varieties	Low	15
Low-fat yogurt, artificially sweetened	Low	15
Peppers, all varieties	Low	15
Snow peas	Low	15
Spinach	Low	15
Young summer squash	Low	15
Tomatoes	Low	15
Zucchini	Low	15
Soya beans, boiled	Low	16
Peas, dried	Low	22
Kidney beans, boiled	Low	29
Lentils green, boiled	Low	29
Chickpeas	Low	33
Haricot beans, boiled	Low	38
Black-eyed beans	Low	41
Chickpeas, tinned	Low	42
Baked beans, tinned	Low	48
Kidney beans, tinned	Low	52
Lentils green, tinned	Low	52
Broad beans	High	79

Notes:
*high in empty calories
**low-calorie and nutritious foods

If you want a more detailed list or if you'd like to search for specific foods that aren't listed here, go to the Official Glycemic Index Website: http://www.glycemicindex.com/