Measuring carbohydrate effects can help glucose management

The glycemic index is a value assigned to foods based on how slowly or how quickly those foods cause increases in blood glucose levels. 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, while people with pre- or full-blown diabetes would need to concentrate on low GI foods. Why? People with type 1 diabetes can't produce sufficient quantities of insulin and those with type 2 diabetes are resistant to insulin. With both types of diabetes, faster glucose release from high GI foods leads to spikes in blood sugar levels. The slow and steady release of glucose in low-glycemic foods helps maintain good glucose control.

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 for more than 60 common foods. A more complete glycemic index chart can be found in the link below.

FOOD Glycemic index (glucose = 100) HIGH-CARBOHYDRATE FOODS White wheat bread* 75 ± 2 Whole wheat/whole meal bread 74 ± 2 Specialty grain bread 53 ± 2 Unleavened wheat bread 70 ± 5 Wheat roti 62 ± 3 Chapatti 52 ± 4 Corn tortilla 46 ± 4 White rice, boiled* 73 ± 4 Brown rice, boiled 68 ± 4 Barley 28 ± 2 Sweet corn 52 ± 5 Spaghetti, white 49 ± 2 Spaghetti, whole meal 48 ± 5 Rice noodles† 53 ± 7 Udon noodles 55 ± 7 Couscous† 65 ± 4 BREAKFAST CEREALS Cornflakes 81 ± 6 Wheat flake biscuits 69 ± 2 Porridge, rolled oats 55 ± 2 Instant oat porridge 79 ± 3 Rice porridge/congee 78 ± 9 Millet porridge 67 ± 5 Muesli 57 ± 2 FRUIT AND FRUIT PRODUCTS Apple, raw† 36 ± 2 Orange, raw† 43 ± 3 Banana, raw† 51 ± 3 Pineapple, raw 59 ± 8 Mango, raw† 51 ± 5 Watermelon, raw 76 ± 4 Dates, raw 42 ± 4 Peaches, canned† 43 ± 5 Strawberry jam/jelly 49 ± 3 Apple juice 41 ± 2 Orange juice 50 ± 2 VEGETABLES Potato, boiled 78 ± 4 Potato, instant mash 87 ± 3 Potato, french fries 63 ± 5 Carrots, boiled 39 ± 4 Sweet potato, boiled 63 ± 6 Pumpkin, boiled 64 ± 7 Plantain/green banana 55 ± 6 Taro, boiled 53 ± 2 Vegetable soup 48 ± 5 DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVES Milk, full fat 39 ± 3 Milk, skim 37 ± 4 Ice cream 51 ± 3 Yogurt, fruit 41 ± 2 Soy milk 34 ± 4 Rice milk 86 ± 7 LEGUMES Chickpeas 28 ± 9 Kidney beans 24 ± 4 Lentils 32 ± 5 Soya beans 16 ± 1 SNACK PRODUCTS Chocolate 40 ± 3 Popcorn 65 ± 5 Potato crisps 56 ± 3 Soft drink/soda 59 ± 3 Rice crackers/crisps 87 ± 2 SUGARS Fructose 15 ± 4 Sucrose 65 ± 4 Glucose 103 ± 3 Honey 61 ± 3 Data are means ± SEM. * Low-GI varieties were also identified. † Average of all available data.

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 of Diabetes Care, Vol. 31, number 12, pages 2281-2283.

To get the lowdown on glycemic index and glycemic load, read more about it here.

American Diabetes Association, 2008. Copyright and all rights reserved. This chart has been used with the permission of American Diabetes Association.

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