The Glycemic Index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion, releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream, have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. For most people, foods with a low GI have significant health benefits.
Glucose is a simple sugar. Remember where simple sugars come from? Refresher! They come from candy, soft drinks, fudge, honey, cake, and fruits. Fruits however contain fibre and are lower on the GI, thus being more beneficial in your fat-loss journey.
Complex carbs, or starch are sugars bonded together to form a chain. Digestive enzymes have to work much harder to break the chain into individual sugars for absorption through the intestines, thus digestion takes longer. The slow absorption provides us with a constant stream of energy throughout the day while limiting the amount of sugar converted, and stored as fat.
Now! Lets get to the list of foods. Below is a list of foods i have compiled from different sources. Use this list as a reference, use it to help yourself plan a diet, or use it to refine your diet and swap out foods you don’t like for something new. Remeber, the LOWER the number the BETTER.
Low GI: 55 or less
Artichoke 15
Asparagus 15
Avocado 15
Broccoli 15
Cauliflower 15
Celery 15
Cucumber 15
Eggplant 15
Green beans 15
Lettuce, all varieties 15
Low-fat yogurt, artificially sweetened 15
Peanuts 15
Peppers, all varieties 15
Snow peas 15
Spinach 15
Young summer squash 15
Zucchini 15
Tomatoes 15
Cherries 22
Peas, dried 22
Plum 24
Grapefruit 25
Pearled barley 25
Peach 28
Canned peaches, natural juice 30
Dried apricots 31
Soy milk 30
Baby lima beans, frozen 32
Fat-free milk 32
Fettuccine 32
Low-fat yogurt, sugar sweetened 33
Apple 36
Pear 36
Whole wheat spaghetti 37
Tomato soup 38
Carrots, cooked 39
Apple juice 41
Spaghetti 41
All-Bran 42
Canned chickpeas 42
Custard 43
Grapes 43
Orange 43
Canned lentil soup 44
Canned pinto beans 45
Macaroni 45
Pineapple juice 46
Banana bread 47
Long-grain rice 47
Parboiled rice 47
Bulgur 48
Canned baked beans 48
Grapefruit juice 48
Green peas 48
Oat bran bread 48
Old-fashioned oatmeal 49
Cheese tortellini 50
Canned kidney beans 52
Kiwifruit 52
Orange juice, not from concentrate 52
Banana 53
Special K 54
Sweet potato 54
Brown Rice 55
Canned fruit cocktail 55
Linguine 55
Oatmeal cookies 55
Popcorn 55
Sweet corn 55
Medium GI: 56 to 69
Muesli 56
White rice 56
Orange juice from frozen concentrate 57
Pita bread 57
Oats 58
Canned peaches, heavy syrup 58
Mini shredded wheats 58
Bran Chex 58
Blueberry muffin 59
Bran muffin 60
Cheese pizza 60
Hamburger bun 61
Beets 64
Canned apricots, light syrup 64
Canned black bean soup 64
Macaroni and cheese 64
Raisins 64
Couscous 65
Quick-cooking oatmeal 65
Rye crispbread 65
Table sugar (sucrose) 65
Canned green pea soup 66
Instant oatmeal 66
Pineapple 66
Angel food cake 67
Grape-Nuts 67
Stoned Wheat Thins 67
American rye bread 68
Taco shells 68
Whole wheat bread 69
High GI: 70 or more
Life Savers 70
Melba toast 70
Golden Grahams 71
Bagel 72
Corn chips 72
Watermelon 72
Honey 73
Kaiser roll 73
Mashed potatoes 73
Bread stuffing mix 74
Cheerios 74
Cream of Wheat, instant 74
Graham crackers 74
Puffed wheat 74
Doughnuts 75
French fries 76
Frozen waffles 76
Total cereal 76
Vanilla wafers 77
Grape-Nuts Flakes 80
Jelly beans 80
Pretzels 81
Rice cakes 82
Rice Krispies 82
Corn Chex 83
Mashed potatoes, instant 83
Cornflakes 84
Baked potato 85
Rice Chex 89
Rice, instant 91
French bread 95
Parsnips 97
Dates 103
Tofu frozen dessert 115
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