If you are interested in nutrition and eating well, you might have heard the terms “glycemic index” or “glycemic load”, but what do these terms really mean?
What is a glycemic index food list?
To answer these questions, we must ask another question: are all carbohydrates created equal? The answer is a resounding “no”. There are several different kinds of carbohydrates, and our bodies break down these different types in very different ways. Some carbs can be broken down quickly and released into the bloodstream, while others take longer to be digested. The relative rates at which our bodies can break down these carbohydrates for fuel is reflected in a glycemic index food list.
So, why is the speed at which your body can break down these carbohydrates important? For controlling hunger and keeping energy high, it’s much more effective to eat carbs that are released into the bloodstream slowly, keeping blood sugar at more constant levels.
Eating carbohydrates which break down into the bloodstream too quickly can cause you to board the “blood sugar roller coaster”. When you eat these types of carbs, they rush into your bloodstream, causing your body to manufacture more insulin than necessary to control this sudden imbalance in your blood chemistry. This leads to a subsequent “sugar crash”, when the release of extra insulin causes your blood sugar to drop from a peak to a low. This can cause hunger, tiredness, or feelings of irritability – all symptoms best avoided if you’re trying to watch your weight, or even just trying to function well in daily life.
So how do you tell which foods are best for maintaining steady blood glucose levels? Here is where a glycemic index food list comes in. The glycemic index is a relative scale which tells you which foods are more quickly broken down during digestion, and which take longer to be digested. Foods with a lower score take longer to be released into the bloodstream, and foods with a higher score are more quickly digested and released into the body as blood sugar.
The glycemic index scale was developed by Dr. David Jenkins in the 1980′s in order to assist diabetics with selecting healthy foods to eat to control their blood sugar levels. The scale is centered around glucose, or pure sugar, as a reference food. Glucose is given a score of 100, which is assumed to be essentially a maximum score on the glycemic index scale.
Foods on a glycemic index food list are generally broken down into three categories – low, medium, and high glycemic index foods. Foods scoring less than 55 are generally considered low glycemic index foods. Examples include fruits like grapefruit, apples, pears, and strawberries; most vegetables, like carrots, peas, broccoli, and lettuce; beans and legumes; and some whole grains.
Foods scoring between 56 and 69 are ranked as medium or moderate glycemic index foods. These foods can include whole-wheat bread; certain rices, like brown rice or basmati rice; and some produce with higher sugar content, such as bananas, beets, or corn.
Foods with a score over 70 are denoted as high glycemic index foods. These include heavily processed foods like potato chips, french fries, and white flour products. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re off the hook if you eat produce, however. Some fruits and vegetables, such as cooked carrots, watermelon, and pumpkin rank high on the glycemic index food list.
Here is a list of some examples of common food items ranked on a glycemic index scale, from lowest to highest.
- Lettuce – 10
- Uncooked broccoli – 10
- Non-fat, sugar free yogurt – 14
- Soy beans – 18
- Barley – 22
- Sugar-free dark chocolate – 23
- Skim milk – 32
- Fruit-flavored yogurt, sugar added – 33
- Orange – 33
- Apple – 40
- Wheat spaghetti – 42
- Wholegrain bread – 45
- Raw carrots – 47
- Peas – 48
- Wheat bread – 53
- Banana – 55
- Whole wheat pita bread – 58
- Granola bar – 60
- Raisins – 63
- White bread – 70
- Rice – 70
- Watermelon – 72
- Microwave popcorn – 75
- French fries – 75
- Coca-cola – 77
- Pretzels – 83
- Baked potato – 85
Glycemic index can be a useful tool for dieting and weight loss. Intake of high glycemic index foods over a long period of time has been shown to increase obesity in rats. Also, lowering intake of high glycemic index foods and concentrating on eating foods with low to moderate scores has proved effective for many dieters. Many modern diets are based off of this principle. Partially, these effects are due to feelings of satiety which come with eating low glycemic index foods. In other words, foods on the lower end of the glycemic index food list help you feel fuller when you eat them, and these foods “stick with you” longer than high glycemic index foods do, causing you to eat less overall.
Eating low glycemic index foods can also help stave off chronic disease when implemented consistently over a long period of time. Studies have shown that eating low glycemic index foods over a long period of time leads may help reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease and diabetes, two of the leading causes of death in the developed world today. Diabetics can find low glycemic index diets useful in controlling their diabetes, helping them keep blood sugar levels low. This, in turn, can help reduce the risk of insulin resistance, a complication which can make the treatment of diabetes very difficult. Possible links have also been established between consumption of high glycemic index foods and other diseases, such as adult macular degeneration and certain types of cancer.
While glycemic index is an important factor to consider when selecting foods in your diet, it is important to remember that it is not the whole picture when it comes to health. Not all foods with low glycemic index scores are necessarily healthy; foods with high fat content can receive low glycemic index scores, but they might not be appropriate as the basis of a healthy diet. Also, it is important to note that some cultures with very low rates of chronic disease have built their diets around moderate to high glycemic index foods, such as rice. However, many of these cultures do temper these high glycemic index foods with low or moderate foods, such as beans.
All in all, referencing a glycemic index food list can be a very useful tool for you, whether you’re watching your weight, trying to fight that “afternoon tired feeling”, or trying to limit your risk of chronic disease. Next time you’re trying to decide what to eat, factor the glycemic index of the food you’re about to enjoy – your body will thank you!