With insulin resistance and diabetes reaching epidemic levels in the United States, it is imperative to know the glycemic index of the foods we are commonly eating. Unfortunately, this data is usually locked away in research journals and when it is made available, you get a million listings with a ton of garbage results for foods you’ve never heard of. Well, we got tired of that and fixed up a nice GI table.
We dug around a bit and have come up with the latest information on GI values for the most common foods, pulled from many sources by esteemed researchers at the Diabetes Care Journal.
This is by no means the whole list. There must be 3,000-4,000 foods and products profiled for this survey. We cherry picked what we felt would be the most important for you to see. Sometimes less is more and we feel this is one of those times.
If we missed any major ones, let us know. The full lists are at the bottom if you want to download/view them.
Enjoy the list.
Glycemic Index (GI) of Common Foods
Note: Both charts can be re-categorized by clicking on the column headings
| Food | GI Value | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Whole Wheat Bread | 74 | ± 2 |
| White Bread | 75 | ± 2 |
| Multi-Grain Bread | 53 | ± 2 |
| Whole Wheat Indian Bread (Roti/Chapatti) | 62 | ± 3 |
| White Indian Bread (Roti/Chapatti) | 52 | ± 4 |
| Tortilla, Corn | 46 | ± 4 |
| Brown Rice | 68 | ± 4 |
| White Rice | 73 | ± 4 |
| Basmati Rice, White | 57 | ± 4 |
| Barley | 28 | ± 2 |
| Whole Wheat Pasta | 48 | ± 5 |
| White Pasta | 49 | ± 2 |
| White Rice Noodles | 53 | ± 7 |
| Udon Noodles | 55 | ± 7 |
| Couscous (Wheat) | 65 | ± 4 |
| Cornflakes (Kellogg’s) | 81 | ± 52 |
| Instant Oats | 79 | ± 3 |
| Rolled Whole Oats | 55 | ± 2 |
| Millet | 67 | ± 5 |
| Museli | 57 | ± 2 |
| Clif Bar | 101 | ± 6 |
| Powerbar | 83 | ± 11 |
| Mac and Cheese | 64 | n/a |
| Amaranth | 97 | ± 19 |
| Rice Krispies (Kellogg’s) | 82 | n/a |
| Rice Chex | 89 | n/a |
| Total (General Mills) | 76 | n/a |
| Life (Pepsico) | 66 | n/a |
| Grapenuts (Altria) | 67 | n/a |
| Cream of Wheat | 66 | n/a |
| Cheerios (General Mills) | 74 | ± 0 |
| Sourdough Rye | 56 | ± 0 |
| Gluten-Free Bread | 74 | ± 6 |
| Bagel | 72 | ± 0 |
| Waffles | 76 | ± 0 |
| Muffins (average) | 67 | ± 35 |
| Doughnut | 76 | ± 0 |
| Flan | 65 | ± 0 |
| Cake (Average) | 52 | ± 13 |
| Croissant | 67 | ± 0 |
| Pancakes (Wheat) | 64 | ± 18 |
| Pancakes (Buckwheat) | 102 | ± 11 |
| Gluten-Free Bread (Average) | 64 | ± 24 |
| Spelt Bread, Whole | 63 | ± 0 |
| Coco Pops (Kelloggs) | 77 | ± 8 |
| Corn Pops (Kelloggs) | 80 | ± 4 |
| Froot Loops (Kelloggs) | 69 | ± 9 |
| Kashi Seven Whole Grains (Kelloggs) | 65 | ± 10 |
| Special K, US Variety (Kelloggs) | 69 | ± 5 |
| Buckwheat (Soba) Noodles | 59 | ± 1 |
| Brown Rice Noodles | 92 | ± 8 |
| Gluten-Free Pasta | 76 | ± 6 |
| Food | GI Value | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet Corn | 52 | ± 5 |
| Apples | 36 | ± 2 |
| Oranges | 43 | ± 3 |
| Banana | 51 | ± 3 |
| Pineapple | 59 | ± 8 |
| Mango | 51 | ± 5 |
| Watermelon | 76 | ± 4 |
| Dates | 42 | ± 4 |
| Peaches, Canned | 43 | ± 5 |
| Strawberry Jam | 49 | ± 3 |
| Apple Juice | 41 | ± 2 |
| Orange Juice | 50 | ± 2 |
| Potato, boiled | 78 | ± 4 |
| Potato, instant | 87 | ± 3 |
| Carrots, boiled | 39 | ± 4 |
| Carrots | 16 | n/a |
| Pumpkin, Boiled | 64 | ± 7 |
| Plantain | 55 | ± 6 |
| Taro, boiled | 53 | ± 2 |
| Chickpeas | 28 | ± 9 |
| Kidney Beans | 24 | ± 4 |
| Lentils | 32 | ± 5 |
| Edimame (Raw Soybeans) | 16 | ± 1 |
| Black Beans | 30 | n/a |
| Brown Beans | 38 | n/a |
| Yam | 25 | ± 4 |
| Sweet Potato | 48 | ± 6 |
| Beets | 64 | ± 16 |
| Peas, Cooked | 35 | ± 4 |
| Peanuts | 18 | ± 3 |
| Pinto Beans | 42 | n/a |
| Lentils – Red | 26 | ± 4 |
| Lentils – Green | 26 | ± 8 |
| Kidney Beans | 23 | n/a |
| Grapefruit Juice | 48 | n/a |
| Raisins | 66 | ± 6 |
| Pear | 38 | ± 10 |
| Peach | 42 | ± 14 |
| Papaya | 60 | ± 8 |
| Grapes | 46 | ± 6 |
| Kiwi | 47 | ± 4 |
| Grapefruit | 25 | n/a |
| Apricots | 34 | ± 3 |
| Ginger | 10 | ± 4 |
| Strawberries | 40 | ± 7 |
| Cranberry Juice | 59 | ± 0 |
| Tomato Juice (V8 – Campbell’s) | 33 | ± 3 |
| Cashews | 25 | ± 1 |
| Food | GI Value | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Milk, Cow – Full Fat | 39 | ± 3 |
| Milk, Cow – Skim | 37 | ± 4 |
| Yogurt | 41 | ± 2 |
| Soy Milk | 34 | ± 4 |
| Rice Milk | 86 | ± 7 |
| Ensure | 75 | ± 10 |
| Slimfast | 35 | ± 2 |
| Food | GI Value | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| French Fries | 63 | ± 5 |
| Chocolate | 40 | ± 3 |
| Potato Chips | 56 | ± 3 |
| Soft Drink | 59 | ± 3 |
| Rice Crackers/Chips | 87 | ± 2 |
| Popcorn | 65 | ± 5 |
| Fructose | 15 | ± 4 |
| Sucrose | 65 | ± 4 |
| Glucose | 103 | ± 3 |
| Honey | 61 | ± 3 |
| Corn Chips | 74 | n/a |
| Pizza, Cheese | 70 | n/a |
| Gatorade (Pepsico) | 89 | ± 12 |
| Coca-Cola | 63 | ± 0 |
| Lean Cuisine (average- Nestle) | 46 | ± 8 |
| Hamburger (McDonalds) | 66 | ± 8 |
| Chicken McNuggets (McDonalds) | 55 | ± 6 |
| Ice Cream | 51 | ± 3 |
| Gelato | 38 | ± 5 |
| Lifesavers – Nestle, Peppermint | 70 | ± 6 |
| Milky Way (Mars) | 62 | ± 8 |
| Snickers (Mars) | 51 | ± 0 |
| Agave Syrup (high fructose) | 13 | ± 0 |
| Hummus | 6 | ± 4 |
The rest of the table, Parts I + II:
Notes:
GI Index values do not tell you the whole story! Blood sugar can be effected by factors like which foods you eat together, how long ago your last meal was, etc.
Additionally, food high in fructose register very low in their glycemic index. This occurs because fructose takes a special metabolic detour in your body, straight to the liver – and only the liver deals with fructose. This general idea is one of the major theories behind the rise in insulin resistance and diabetes across America. Beware of all sugary foods (minus produce – apples arent going to kill you).
Sources:
- Atkinson FS, et al. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008. Diabetes Care. 2008 Dec;31(12):2281-3.
- Chart from the study
Version 1.0 – (2009.06.07)