Atlanta Nutritionist Ilana Katz on The Glycemic Index

The glycemic index is a list of foods. It rates carbohydrate foods by comparing how much they raise blood sugar after eating a measured portion of the food compared to a reference food set to equal 100. The reference can be either glucose or white bread, depending on the researcher. All the foods in the glycemic index are high in carbohydrates. Foods low in carbohydrates and high in fat or protein don’t cause a significant rise in blood sugar, so researchers don’t bother to measure them.

How fast a food raises blood sugar is important, because it determines how much insulin is produced to keep the blood sugar from going too high. For some people, this isn’t an issue. However, some people will produce an excess of insulin in response to high glycemic index foods, and that’s where the trouble starts.

Insulin reduces blood sugar by sending it out of the blood and into the cells to be stored as fat. If there’s too much insulin, then after the blood sugar goes up, the excess insulin causes it to fall too low, which can create the rollercoaster effect of a temporary lift, then fatigue and carbohydrate cravings.

In Summary: The Glycemic index measures how fast the carbohydrate of a particular food is converted to glucose and enters the bloodstream. The lower the number, the slower the conversion and therefore, the more stable the blood sugar.

The numbers are percentages with respect to a reference food. The scale here is with respect to white bread, with it being set at 100. I have listed a few foods which you would use quite frequently.

Overconsumption of high glycemic index foods appears to contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes, as well as an impressive list of common health problems, all of which result from the long-term effects of too much insulin in the body.

A simple tool for making better choices
Using white bread as the standard, sucrose (table sugar) has a glycemic index of 92. So white bread, with a glycemic index of 100, raises blood glucose slightly faster than table sugar. Baked potatoes may be the biggest surprise, with a glycemic index of 121, which is 29 points higher than table sugar!

Proponents claim that using the glycemic index in making food choices can help you lose weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, improve your energy level and athletic performance, stabilize your blood sugar and enjoy greater overall wellness.

For high glycemic baked potatoes (121), you can substitute pasta, prepared slightly al dente (typically 50 to 60), beans and legumes (typically 40 to 60) or sweet potatoes (77), all of which have less of a glycemic effect. Instead of regular rice (126), you can substitute basmati (83) or Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice (63), or for part of the rice, substitute the much lower glycemic pearled barley (36). Instead of highly processed breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers, cakes and muffins, look for those made from unrefined cereals or those that add dried fruits, which have a lower glycemic index than refined flour. Instead of tropical fruits such as bananas (77) switch to temperate climate fruits such as apples (54) or peaches (60).

Glycemic Index
Cereals		Snacks		Pasta		Beans
All Bran	51	chocolate bar	49	cheese tortellini	50	baked	44
Bran Buds + psyll	45	corn chips	72	fettucini	32	black beans, boiled	30
Bran Flakes	74	croissant	67	linguini	50	butter, boiled	33
Cheerios	74	doughnut	76	macaroni	46	cannellini beans	31
Corn Chex	83	graham crakers	74	spagh, 5 min boiled	33	garbanzo, boiled	34
Cornflakes	83	jelly beans	80	spagh, 15 min boiled	44	kidney, boiled	29
Cream of Wheat	66	Life Savers	70	spagh, prot enrich	28	kidney, canned	52
Frosted Flakes	55	oatmeal cookie	57	vermicelli	35	lentils, green, brown	30
Grapenuts	67	pizza, cheese & tom	60	Soups/Vegetables		lima, boiled	32
Life	66	Pizza Hut, supreme	33	beets, canned	64	navy beans	38
muesli, natural	54	popcorn, light micro	55	black bean soup	64	pinto, boiled	39
Nutri-grain	66	potato chips	56	carrots, fresh, boil	49	red lentils, boiled	27
oatmeal, old fach	48	pound cake	54	corn, sweet	56	soy, boiled	16
Puffed Wheat	67	Power bars	58	green pea, soup	66	Breads
Raisin Bran	73	pretzels	83	green pea, frozen	47	bagel, plain	72
Rice Chex	89	saltine crakers	74	lima beans, frozen	32	baquette, Frnch	95
Shredded Wheat	67	shortbread cookies	64	parsnips	97	croissant	67
Special K	54	Snikers bar	41	peas, fresh, boil	48	dark rey	76
Total	76	strawberry jam	51	split pea soup w/ham	66	hamburger bun	61
Fruit		vanilla wafers	77	tomato soup	38	muffins
apple	38	Wheat Thins	67	Drinks		apple, cin	44
apricots	57	Crackers		apple juice	40	blueberry	59
banana	56	graham	74	colas	65	oat & raisin	54
cantalope	65	rice cakes	80	Gatorade	78	pita	57
cherries	22	rye	68	grapefruit juice	48	pizza, cheese	60
dates	103	soda	72	orange juice	46	pumpernickel	49
grapefruit	25	Wheat Thins	67	pineapple juice	46	sourdough	54
grapes	46	Cereal Grains		Milk Products		rye	64
kiwi	52	barley	25	chocolate milk	35	white	70
mango	55	basmati white rice	58	custard	43	wheat	68
orange	43	bulgar	48	ice cream, van	60	Root Crops
papaya	58	couscous	65	ice milk, van	50	french fries	75
peach	42	cornmeal	68	skim milk	32	pot, new, boiled	59
pear	58	millet	71	soy milk	31	pot, red, baked	93
pineapple	66	Sugars		tofu frozen dessert	115	pot, sweet	52
plums	39	fructose	22	whole milk	30	pot, white, boiled	63
prunes	15	honey	62	yogurt, fruit	36	pot, white, mash	70
raisins	64	maltose	105	yogurt, plain	14	yam	54
watermelon	72	table sugar	64

If you are confused about how the Glycemic Index affects weight loss, please ask Atlanta NutritionistIlana Katz.