Glycemic Index Food List, Chart - Information That You Should Know

When glucose or sugar collects in blood stream, the condition is referred to as glycemia. Glycemia may be a pre-diabetic state, and not necessarily diabetes mellitus. If a person is diagnosed with glycemia, his or her blood glucose level may be slightly higher than the upper limit of normal blood glucose reading. He may not be called a diabetic in this case. Two main reasons of glycemia are poor production of insulin and non-reactivity of body cells to insulin. Stress and anxiety, infections, illness, forgetting insulin injections or oral glucose lowering pills, faulty food habits, lack of physical activity and exercises may induce glycemia in a person. Glycemia can be of two types: hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. 

Hyperglycemia is characterized by high levels of glucose in blood. If the fasting glucose count exceeds 90-130mg/dl, it is called fasting hyperglycemia, and if the postprandial or after-meal reading exceeds 180mg/dl, it is called postprandial hyperglycemia. The common symptoms of hyperglycemia include headaches, increased thirst, increased hunger, frequent urination, decreased vision, blurred vision, weight loss, fatigue, intestinal disorders, and skin infections, slow healing of wounds, numbness in limbs, nausea and vomiting. 

Hypoglycemia occurs when glucose levels in blood are very low. The readings, in case of hypoglycemia, may be below 70mg/dl. The main causes of hypoglycemia include overdoses of insulin or diabetic pills, intake of beta-blockers, exhaustive dieting or skipping of meals, intake of alcohol, severe infections, renal failure, liver failure, formation of tumors caused by insulin or insulinoma, congenital conditions resulting in increased production of insulin. The symptoms of hypoglycemia include trembling, sweating, palpitations, hunger, clammy skin, irritability and anxiety.

Glycemic Index Food List and Chart

The concept of glycemic index was propounded by Dr David J. Jenkins at the University of Toronto in the year 1980-81. It is actually a way to yard or measure the impact of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates are said to have a high glycemic index if they break down quickly in to glucose during digestion. Those with low glycemic index break down slowly and release glucose in to the bloodstream more gradually. Low glycemic index is indicative of a slow rate of digestion and food absorption and also low demand of insulin. In other words, glycemic index of a food item would help us understand which food would cause our blood glucose level to soar high and in a faster rate. For instance, intake of food with the GI 100 or 95 would allow glucose levels to rise considerably, and those with GI 20 or 25 would not cause much rise in blood glucose. Thus glycemic index has nothing to do with the quantity of food consumed but its quality. The glycemic list of some food items is as follows.

Fructose-12-25, average-19, Glucose-85-111, average-100, Glucose consumed with 20 grams of fiber-57-85, Glucose consumed with protein and fat-56, Honey-32-87, average-55, Lactose-46, Sucrose-58-65 and average-68.

Dairy products: Full fat milk-11-40, average-27, Skimmed milk-32, Yoghurt-14-23.

Bread, Grains, Pasta Etc: White bread-64-87, average-70, Whole wheat bread-52-87, average-71, Cakes and muffins-55-80, All-bran cereals-30-51, average-42, Cornflakes-72-92, average 81, Fruit loops-69, Puffed wheat-67-80, Shredded wheat-67-83, average-75, Oatmeal-42-75, average-58, Barley-22-48, Millet-71, White rice-50-64, average-56, Brown rice-66-87, Rice pasta-40-92, Mung bean noodles-26-39.

Fruits and Fruit Juices: Apricot-31, Banana-46-70, Dates-103, Grapes-46-49, Oranges-31-51, average-42, Pineapples-51-66, Peaches-28-56, Pears-33-42, Watermelon-72, Cherries-22, Carrot juice-43, Tomato juice-38, Pineapple juice-46, Orange juice-46-53, Grapefruit juice-48.


Vegetables and Legumes: Potatoes-56-111, Peas-39-54, average 48, Beets-64, Carrots-16-92, average-47, Sweet potato-44-78, average 61, Blackeyed peas-33-50, Butter beans-28-36, average 31, Lentils-18-37, Kidney beans-13-46, average 34, Chick peas-31-36, Soy beans-15-20.