A glycemic index is basically a classification of how high and how fast particular carbohydrate foods raise blood sugar. This index compares the way carbohydrate foods raise blood sugar with the way white bread raises it. White bread is assigned an index number of 100. (There is another glycemic index that use straight glucose as the comparison).
Generally speaking, for a person with diabetes, a low (slow-releasing) glycemic index food is preferred to a high (fast-releasing) glycemic index food. The following chart shows the glycemic index of a variety of foods that have been tested, including indigenous foods of regions around the world.
Glycemic Index | |||
BAKERY PRODUCTS | |||
Donut | 108 | Waffles | 109 |
BREADS | |||
Bagel, white | 103 | Pumpernickel | 71 |
Melba toast | 100 | Wheat bread, white | 101 |
Wheat bread, wholemeal flour | 99 | ||
BREAKFAST CEREALS | |||
All-bran | 60 | Cheerios | 106 |
Cornflakes | 119 | Cream of Wheat | 100 |
Grapenuts | 96 | Oat Bran | 78 |
Oatmeal | 87 | Rice Bran | 27 |
Rice Krispies | 117 | Shredded Wheat | 99 |
Special K | 77 | Total | 109 |
CEREAL GRAINS | |||
Barley, pearled | 36 | Buckwheat | 78 |
Cornmeal | 98 | Millet | 101 |
Rice, brown | 79 | Rice, parboiled | 68 |
Rice, white | 83 | Sweet corn | 78 |
CRACKERS | |||
Stoned Wheat Thins | 96 | ||
DAIRY PRODUCTS | |||
Ice cream | 87 | Ice cream, low fat | 71 |
Milk, full fat | 39 | Milk skim | 46 |
Yogurt, low fat, artificially sweetened | 20 | ||
FRUIT AND FRUIT PRODUCTS | |||
Apple | 54 | Apple juice | 58 |
Apricots, dried | 44 | Apricots, fresh | 82 |
Banana | 77 | Cherries | 32 |
Dates | 141 | Grapefruit | 36 |
Grapes | 6 6 | Orange | 63 |
Orange juice | 74 | Peach, fresh | 60 |
Pear, fresh | 53 | Pineapple | 94 |
Pineapple juice | 66 | Plum | 55 |
Raisins | 91 | Watermelon | 103 |
LEGUMES | |||
Black beans | 43 | Black-eyed beans | 59 |
Broad beans (fava beans) | 113 | Chick peas (garbanzo beans) | 47 |
Kidney beans | 42 | Lima beans, baby, frozen | 46 |
Navy beans juice | 54 | Pinto beans | 55 |
Soy beans | 25 | ||
PASTA | |||
Fettuccine | 46 | Linguine | 65 |
Macaroni | 64 | Spaghetti, wholemeal | 53 |
ROOT VEGETABLES | |||
Beets | 91 | Carrots | 70 |
Parsnips | 139 | Potato, baked | 121 |
Potatoes, french fries | 107 | Rutabaga | 103 |
Sweet potato | 77 | ||
SNACK FOOD AND CONFECTIONARY | |||
Popcorn | 79 | Pretzels | 116 |
SOUPS | |||
Split pea soup | 86 | ||
SUGARS | |||
Fructose | 32 | Glucose | 137 |
Glucose tablets | 146 | Honey | 83 |
Lactose | 65 | Maltose | 150 |
Sucrose (table sugar) | 92 | ||
VEGETABLES | |||
Peas, dried | 32 | Peas, green | 68 |
Source: Jennie Brand-Miller, et al. The Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index, The Groundbreaking Medical Discovery (New York: Marlowe & Company). Used with permission.
This article appeared originally on the DiabetesWebSite.com, which is no longer on-line.
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