Natural / Minimally Processed Sweeteners
Glycemic index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL)
Glycemic Index (GI)
Higher blood sugar levels spur increased INSULIN levels in
order to mobilize excess blood glucose into fat storage
The glycemic index (GI) of a food
refers to how quickly that food releases its glucose and raises blood sugar levels when
it is consumed. Developed in 1981 by David Jenkins at the U. of
Toronto, the GI is specifically a comparative ranking of the
effect that 50
grams of a given food has on blood sugar.
Knowing a food's GI is particularly helpful
if you are diabetic and want to control blood sugar levels and swings, or to a
long distance runner who would favor high glycemic foods. Normal blood glucose
level is 68 to 135 mg/dL. Blood sugar
too low may cause fainting or a coma, too high can cause damage to body organs,
particularly the kidneys and eyes.
The GI for a food is a number
relative to the GI of glucose, which is 100. Fasting blood sugar levels
regularly over 126 mg/dl (hyperglycemia) or A1C test result of >6.5% (an average
measure of blood sugar over 2-3 months) show a higher risk of developing
glucotoxicity. Note that high blood sugar is
not necessarily related to diabetes --- evidence suggests that it can also
result from oxidative stress damage to pancreatic, INSULIN -producing beta cells,
due to such as stress, poor diet or lack of exercise.
The glycemic index for a food depends on:
1. The amount of carbohydrate present.
2. The type of carbohydrate present.
3. The presence of other substances (e.g. soluble fiber) that slow down carbohydrate
metabolism.
Low
Medium
High
1-55
56-69
70+
Generally --- less-processed, fiber-rich foods such as
non-starchy vegetables (e.g. asparagus, artichoke, baby corn, beets, bamboo
shoots, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery,
cucumber, eggplant, leeks, mushrooms, pea pods, peppers, onions, radishes,
rutabaga, salad greens, sprouts, swiss chard, turnips, tomato, water chestnuts), beans and whole grains have a lower GI than sugary or
highly-processed foods such as sodas and white bread.
Glycemic Load (GL)
The GL is a more realistically accurate comparable unit than the GI because
it takes serving size into account (the GI
is based on consumption of 50g) . E.g. You would not likely eat 50g
(2 1/2 cups) of peas, 50g (4 cups) of watermelon or 50g (1.3 pounds) of
carrots at one sitting.
The Glycemic Load (GL) is calculated as:
Food's GI * (Grams of carbohydrates / serving
size) / 100
Low
Medium
High
GI 1-55
56-69
70+
GL 1-10
11-19
20+
HIGH CARB FOODS
Food
GI
GL
Carbs (g)/serving
Glucose, maltodextrin 1 tsp (9g)
100
9 9
Corn syrup
1 Tbsp (30g)
90
27
30
Doughnut
1
76 (high)
17
White bread
Slice (30g)
75 ±2
10
14
Whole wheat bread
Slice (30g)
74 ±2
10
14
Specialty seed/grain bread
Slice (41g)
53 ±2
7
14
Ryvita
Slice (10g)
65
4
6
White spaghetti (boiled 15 mins)
1 Cup
44
18
43
Whole grain spaghetti
1 Cup
48 ±2
16
37
White rice, boiled
1/2 Cup
73 ±4
17
21
White basmati rice, boiled
1/2 Cup
50
13
25
Brown rice, boiled
1/2 Cup
55
15
23
Brown basmati rice, boiled
1/2 Cup
45
11
25
Rolled oats (porridge)
1 Cup
58
14
24
Instant oatmeal 1 Cup
79 ±3
26
47
Pearled barley
1/2 Cup
28 ±2
7
22
Couscous (150g /~1 Cup)
65 ±4
9
Quinoa (150g / 0.8 Cup)
53
13
Cornflakes 1 Cup
81 ±6
20
24
FRUIT
Food
GI
GL
Carbs /serving (g)
Apple
Med.
36 ±2
6
18
Pear
Med.
38
4
22
Peach
Med.
56
7
12
Banana
Small
51 ±3
11
20
Mango
51 ±3
Raspberries
1/2 Cup
25
1
3.5
Blueberries
1/2 Cup
2.5
9
20
Dates
42 ±4
Orange
Med.
43 ±3
5
13
Blueberries
1/2 Cup
2.5
9
20
Grapefruit
1/2 large
25
2.75
11
Watermelon
1 cup cubed
76 ±4 8 (low)
11
Raisins
1/4 Cup
64
17
26
PROTEIN-RICH FOODS
Food
GI
GL
Carbs /serving (g)
Almonds
1 oz
1.5
-
3
Walnuts
1oz
15
1
2
Bacon
3 strips
0
-
0
Eggs, poached
1 large
0
-
1
Beef steak
3 oz
0
-
0
Cheddar cheese
1.5 oz
0
-
1
VEGETABLES
Food
GI
GL
Carbs /serving (g)
Potato, boiled
1/2 Cup
78 ±4 11
14
Potato chips 4 oz
54
30 55
Carrots, steamed
1/2 Cup chopped
39 ±4
1
4
Sweet potatoes
1/2 C mashed
63 ±6
15
25
Peas, cooked
1/2 Cup
51(low)
5.6 (low)
11
Avocado
1/2 med.
0
-
4
CANDIES / SUGAR
Food
GI
GL
Carbs /serving (g)
White table sugar (2 tsp)
65 ±4
7
Snickers candy bar
2 oz
58
21
34.5
Jelly beans (10 large)
78 22
Honey
1 Tbsp
55
9
17
DRINKS
Food
GI
GL
Carbs /serving (g)
Beer, Budweiser 4.9% alc.
12 oz
66
7
11
Gin, 40% alc.
1 oz
0
0
0
White wine
5 oz
0
0
4
Coca Cola
8 oz
53
13
25
Orange juice
6 oz
53
11
20
"-" no data
