The Glycemic Index explained and food list

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Low glycemic eating is a really simple way to keep your weight in check, achieve sustained energy, stabilize your blood sugars and keep inflammation down in the body.

The glycemic index ranks foods on a scale of 0-100, 100 being pure glucose which immediately spikes your blood sugar. 

Foods ranked 55 and below are low glycemic.

Foods 70 and above are high.  Medium glycemic foods are in the middle. It's advantageous to stick with low glycemic foods to get off the sugar hi-lo roller coaster!  Your body is not happy when your glucose spikes and you do not use the energy.  It's even more upset when it soon after crashes down.  Over time this can make your cells insensitive to glucose utilization and cause major problems.  

In the short term you may find yourself hungry mid day with low energy and a slow metabolism.  Your body then craves carbohydrates or sweets to get the sugar rush again.  

Switching to low glycemic eating will help stabilize your blood sugar, improve your metabolism, reduce sugar cravings and help shed weight.

 

Now, regarding this list... you don’t have to get too caught up in the numbers!  There are very, very few fruits and veggies on the high glycemic list and most are low glycemic.  Furthermore, most whole grains are low glycemic. 

What you really have to watch are foods that are made from refined and processed white flour products and sugars. 

I always advise my patients to steer clear of white: bread, potatoes, snack goods as well as sugary desserts treats.  Just so you are familiar, please find the glycemic index list below for your reference.

Glycemic Food List

Grains

  • Pearled barley, cooked 28

  • Barley flour bread 34

  • Rye kernel bread 41

  • Buckwheat, cooked 45

  • Barley kernel bread 45

  • Corn tortillas 46

  • Cracked wheat 46

  • Buckwheat bread 47

  • Spaghetti, whole meal 48

  • Spaghetti 49

  • Rye bread 50

  • Oat bran bread 50

  • Oatmeal 52

  • Quinoa 53

  • Multi-grain bread 53

  • Rice noodles, cooked 53

  • Oatmeal (rolled oats) 55

  • Sweet corn 55

  • Whole meal barley 56

  • Wild rice 57

  • Whole meal spelt bread 63

  • Couscous 65

  • Oat bread 65

  • Muesli 66

  • Millet, boiled 67

  • Brown rice, boiled 68

  • Taco shells 68

  • Cornmeal 68

  • White Rice, boiled 73

  • Whole wheat bread 74

  • White flour bread 75

  • Oatmeal (one-minute) 79

  • Rice cakes 82

  • White rice, boiled 83

Fruit

  • Grapefruit 25

  • Apples, Dried 29

  • Prunes 29

  • Apricots, Dried 30

  • Apples, Raw 36

  • Pears 38

  • Plums 39

  • Strawberries 40

  • Oranges 42

  • Apricots, Raw 46

  • Grapes 50

  • Kiwi 52

  • Bananas 53

  • Pineapple 59

  • Papaya 60

  • Figs, dried 61

  • Raisins 61

  • Cantaloupe 68

  • Watermelon 76

Starchy Vegetables

  • Carrots, peeled, boiled 33

  • Carrots, raw, diced 35

  • Sweet potatoes, boiled 46

  • Potatoes, boiled 49

  • Yams 54

  • Beets 64

  • French fries 64

  • Potatoes, Mashed 83

  • Potatoes, Baked 111

Legumes

  • Lentils, red, cooked 21

  • Split peas, yellow, cooked 25

  • Lentils, green, cooked 30

  • Kidney beans 31

  • Garbanzo beans, cooked 31

  • Navy beans, cooked 35

  • Pinto beans, dried, boiled 39

  • Pinto beans, canned 45

Dairy

  • Cheese 0

  • Greek yogurt 12

  • Whole fat milk 31

  • Yogurt, low fat, plain 35

  • Skim milk 36

  • Yogurt, low fat with fruit 47

Sweetners

  • Stevia 0

  • Agave syrup* 15

  • Fructose 18

  • Raw honey 30

  • Barley malt syrup 42

  • Sugar cane juice 43

  • Maple syrup 54

  • Evaporated cane juice 55

  • Black strap molasses 55

  • Turbinado sugar 65

  • Pasteurized honey 71

  • Corn syrup 75

  • Sucrose (white sugar) 80

  • Brown rice syrup 85

  • High fructose corn syrup 87

  • Glucose 100