What is the Glycemic Index?

The Glycemic Index(GI) is a measure of the rate at which the foods you eat raise your blood sugar levels. White bread is the standard to which all other foods are compared with an assigned value of 100. The higher a food's GI value, the faster it will raise your blood sugar. Foods with a high GI also tend to cause more weight gain than foods with a lower GI. A quick spike in blood sugar levels leads to a corresponding increase of insulin, your body's primary storage hormone. The more insulin circulating through your bloodstream, the more calories will be stored as fat.

Try to choose foods that rank low and medium on the GI more often than those with a higher ranking. A rank of 55 or less is low, a rank of 56-69 is medium and a ranking of 70 and up is high.

Examples of LOW GI Foods
All-Bran
Apples
Asparagus
Baked Beans
Cabbage
Chickpeas
Kidney Beans
Lentils
Oat Bran Bread
Oranges
Parboiled rice
Plain yogurt
Plums
Pumpernickel bread
Skim milk
Soymilk
Sweet potatoes
Swiss chard

Examples of MEDIUM GI Foods
Bananas
Basamati rice
Brown rice
Couscous
New potatoes
Oatmeal
Pineapples
Popcorn
Raisins
Rye bread
Shredded wheat cereal
Whole wheat bread

Examples of HIGH GI Foods
Baked white potatoes
Cheerios
Corn Flakes
Dried dates
French fries
Instant mashed potatoes
Instant rice
Jelly beans
Parsnips
Rice Krispies
Rutabaga
Soda crackers
Watermelon
White bagels

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