Glycemic Index Food List

Glycemic Index Food List

What is the glycemic index? Good question. For a short explanation, first check out our complete guide to the glycemic index here.

Here, however, you’ll find a list of 100+ foods on the glycemic index. We’ve listed the foods, their glycemic index numbers (on a scale of 1-100 with glucose (sugar) being 100) along with the glycemic load per serving.

There is a difference between glycemic index and glycemic load that is worth exploring. As our guide to the glycemic index explains, the GI # is indicative of how quickly your blood sugar levels will rise after a food is eaten. The higher the number, the more that food will spike your blood sugar. That being said, the glycemic index does not take into account the amount of carbohydrates in a serving size of the food. This is where the glycemic load value comes into play. The glycemic load of food is a number that estimates how much the food will raise a person’s blood glucose level after eating a serving. It is most commonly thought that the glycemic load # is a better estimation of how much your blood sugar levels will rise since serving size is considered.

A lower number means that food doesn’t affect your blood sugar and insulin levels as much. A higher number means that food affects those levels more. In short: low numbers = good and high numbers = bad.

A food is considered to have a low glycemic load if the value is 10 or below. A high glycemic load value is 20 or above.

This chart helps you to see the foods that have a low glycemic index so you can choose food that create a lower blood glucose level.

As you scroll through the chart below, you’ll probably notice that many of these foods aren’t Paleo-friendly. The Paleo diet is mostly composed of low carbohydrate and GI/GL foods. When a person eats a diet composed mainly of these low value foods it helps blood sugar levels stay more stable and can decrease the risk for chronic disease and increase weight loss.

Some Paleo foods that are included on the list below are fruits, vegetables, and various potatoes. You can compare their GI and GL scores and determine how these foods would affect your blood sugar levels.

Sources & References

• http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/glycemicindlist.htm
• http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm
• http://www.livestrong.com/glycemic-index-food-list/
• http://www.lifetimefatloss.com/glycemic-index-list-of-foods.html

photo credit: Matthew T Rader | PetitPlat – Stephanie Kilgast