We’re all looking at ways to minimize the effects of sugar on our bodies and the way it affects is in the short and long-term.
Six year ago, when Dr. Hyla Cass published8 Weeks to Vibrant Health, we included information, not only about the glycemic index, which is well know, but about glycemic load, which is a better method of determining the effects of carbohydrates in food on your body.
Just a quick aside: When I saw the glycemic index chart that said watermelon had worse effects that a Snickers bar, I knew there was something wrong. Read on to understand why.
The speed at which a specific food breaks down into glucose determines its glycemic index (GI). In a nutshell, the higher a food’s glycemic index, the more quickly it breaks down into simple sugars and the worse it is for you. However, it’s a little more complicated than that for a couple of reasons:
1. Glycemic index or GI tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn’t tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food’s effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load or GL comes in. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn’t a lot of it, so watermelon’s glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 through 19 is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low. Foods that have a low GL almost always have a low GI. Foods with an intermediate or high GL range from very low to very high GI.
2. Glycemic index is based on eating that food alone, something we don’t do very often. The presence of protein and fats slows the absorption of carbohydrates, so, where it might be a bad idea to eat a pile of mashed potatoes alone, it’s perfectly fine to eat modest servings in combination with a serving of meat and vegetables. For more information on this, see Nancy Appleton’s classic book Lick the Sugar Habit (Avery 1996).
Keep most of your carb consumption in the low-GL section found at the top third of the chart. This gives your body the glucose it needs for fuel without the blood sugar spikes that leave you feeling tired and cranky and contribute to food cravings.
To further slow the glucose conversion, combine your carbs with protein. For example, add a couple of slices of roasted turkey to a piece of whole grain bread (or gluten-free bread, as we know today) or have some poached salmon with a serving of brown rice.
Note: If you’re going gluten-free, as many of us are today, be aware that gluten-free does not mean low carb. It’s difficult to find information about gluten-free breads, but I did find one that placed the glycemic index at a very high 79. I haven’t yet found GL infromaiton about gluten-free breads, but I will share it when I find it.
Glycemic Index by Glycemic Load
First number is glycemic load (GL), second number is glycemic Index (GI).
* GL: low = 1–10, medium = 11–19, high = 20 or more.
**GI: low = 1–55, medium = 56–69, high = 70–100.
All-bran cereal (8, 42)
Beets (5, 64)
Popcorn (8, 72)
Apples (6, 38)
Cantaloupe (4, 65)
Watermelon (4, 72)
Carrots (3, 47)
Pineapple (7, 59)
Whole grain bread (9, 71)
Chana dal (3, 8)
Sucrose (table sugar) (7, 68)
White wheat flour bread (10, 70)
Chickpeas (8, 28)
Grapes (8, 46)
Green peas (3, 48)
Kidney beans (7, 28)
Oranges (5, 42)
Peaches (5, 42)
Peanuts (1, 14)
Pears (4, 38)
Pinto beans (10, 39)
Red lentils (5, 26)
Strawberries (1, 40)
Sweet corn (9, 54)
Apple juice (11, 40)
Bananas (12, 52)
New potatoes (12, 57)
Shredded wheat (15, 75)
Buckwheat (16, 54)
Sweet potatoes (17, 61)
Fettuccine (18, 40)
Wild rice (18, 57)
Navy beans (12, 38)
Orange juice (12, 50)
Pearled barley (11, 25)
Sourdough wheat bread (15, 54)
Linguine (23, 52)
Couscous (23, 65)
Baked russet potatoes (26, 85)
Macaroni (23, 47)
White rice (23, 64)
Cornflakes (21, 81)
Spaghetti (20, 42)
—Reprinted with permission: David Mendosa, www.mendosa.com.Find more foods and more information at http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm.
