The following lists of GI values should be regarded as guidelines and not as absolute values. The GI is influenced by a wide variety of factors, namely:
Human factors
- Individual variations
- Effect of exercise and physical fitness
- Carbohydrate content of the diet in general
- Presence of diseases, e.g. patients with diabetes will react differently when compared to healthy subjects
- Age
- Sex
- Race
Physical food factors
- Physical form of starch granules and their size
- Amylose to amylopectin ratio (i.e. ratio of the different types of starch in a food)
- Processing such as pre-cooking, processing of foods such as pasta, blending, grinding
- Type of heat used to cook the food (dry or moist)
- Temperature and time of cooking (see difference in GI of pasta cooked for shorter or longer periods in the table below)
- Degree of ripeness of fruit and vegetables
- Amount of resistant starch in food
- Presence of anti-nutrients such as phytate, lectins, tannins and saponins
- Removal of protein from wheat products to produce gluten-free flour increases the GI
- Presence of fat in foods lowers the GI
- Presence of different fibres in foods – gel-forming fibres or soluble fibres lower the GI
- Addition of salt can increase the GI
- Addition of sugar in small quantities does not necessarily increase the GI
In view of all these factors that can influence the GI of food, a working group has recently been appointed in South Africa to define the methods which should be used to determine the GI of local foods. The working group has issued a warning that "all results and GI values currently used in South Africa need to be used with caution …"
Readers should, therefore, use the GI values listed below with caution and not regard any of the GIs as final, absolute values.
In general, foods with a GI below 55 are classified as low-GI foods, those with a GI between 55 and 70 as intermediate-GI foods, and those with a GI of 70 or higher, as high-GI foods.
Food | Glycaemic Index (GI) using white bread with a GI of 100 as reference |
Breads | |
Bagel, white | 103 |
Hamburger bun | 87 |
Melba toast | 100 |
Oat bran bread | 68 |
Rye kernel bread | 66 |
Pumpernickel | 71 |
Rye flour bread | 92 |
Linseed rye bread | 78 |
Wheat bread, white | 100 |
Wheat bread, high fibre | 97 |
Wheat bread, gluten-free | 129 |
Wheat bread, wholewheat | 99 |
Wholewheat snack breads | 105 |
Pita, white | 82 |
Mixed grain bread | 64 |
Breakfast cereals | |
All-bran | 60 |
All-bran with raisins | 74 |
Cocoapops | 110 |
Cornflakes | 119 |
Cream of wheat | 100 |
Muesli | 80 |
Oat bran | 78 |
Oatmeal | 87 |
Puffed wheat | 105 |
Rice bran | 27 |
Rice crispies | 117 |
Shredded wheat | 99 |
Special K | 77 |
Cereal grains | |
Barley, pearled | 36 |
Barley, cracked | 72 |
Barley, rolled | 94 |
Bulgur wheat | 68 |
Couscous | 93 |
Maize meal | 97 |
Millet | 101 |
Sweet corn | 78 |
Rice, white | 81 |
Rice, Basmati (high amylose content) | 83 |
Rice, brown | 79 |
Rice, instant, boiled for 6 min. | 128 |
Rice, instant, boiled for 1 min. | 65 |
Rice, parboiled | 68 |
Rice, wild | 81 |
Rye kernels | 48 |
Tapioca boiled with milk | 115 |
Cakes and biscuits | |
Butter biscuits | 79 |
Cake, angel food | 95 |
Cake, banana loaf | 67 |
Cake, sponge | 66 |
Coffee cookies | 113 |
Crispbead | 116 |
Croissant | 96 |
Crumpet | 98 |
Digestive biscuits | 84 |
Doughnut | 108 |
Graham crackers | 106 |
Maizena cookies | 95 |
Muffins | 88 |
Oat cookies | 79 |
Pastry | 84 |
Pizza base with cheese | 86 |
Rice cakes | 117 |
Rye crispbread | 93 |
Shortbread | 91 |
Waffle | 109 |
Water biscuits | 102 |
Wheat crackers | 96 |
Drinks | |
Cold drinks, sweetened | 97 |
Cordials | 94 |
Lucozade (energy drinks) | 136 |
Fruit and fruit juices | |
Apple | 52 |
Apple juice | 58 |
Apricots, fresh | 82 |
Apricots, canned in syrup | 91 |
Apricots, dried | 44 |
Banana | 76 |
Cherries | 32 |
Fruit cocktail | 79 |
Grapefruit | 36 |
Grapefruit juice, unsweetened | 69 |
Grapes | 62 |
Kiwi fruit | 75 |
Mango | 80 |
Orange | 62 |
Orange juice | 74 |
Pawpaw | 83 |
Peach, raw | 40 |
Peach, canned | 79 |
Pear, raw | 51 |
Pear, canned | 63 |
Pineapple, raw | 94 |
Pineapple juice | 66 |
Plum | 34 |
Raisins | 91 |
Spanspek | 93 |
Sultanas | 80 |
Watermelon | 103 |
Legumes | |
Baked beans, canned | 69 |
Beans, dry | 40 |
Broad beans | 113 |
Butter beans | 44 |
Chickpeas | 47 |
Chickpeas, canned | 60 |
Kidney beans | 42 |
Kidney beans, canned | 74 |
Lentils | 41 |
Lentils, green, canned | 74 |
Lima beans, frozen | 46 |
Soya beans | 25 |
Soya milk | 43 |
Split peas, boiled | 45 |
Milk and dairy products | |
Ice cream | 87 |
Ice cream, low-fat | 71 |
Milk, whole | 39 |
Milk, skim | 46 |
Milk, chocolate, sweetened with sugar | 49 |
Milk, chocolate, artificially sweetened | 34 |
Custard | 61 |
Yoghurt, low-fat, fruit, sweetened with sugar | 47 |
Yogurt, low-fat, artificially sweetened | 20 |
Yoghurt, plain | 51 |
Pasta | |
Fettucine | 46 |
Gnocchi | 95 |
Instant noodles | 67 |
Macaroni | 64 |
Macaroni and cheese | 92 |
Ravioli, meat filling | 56 |
Spaghetti, protein-enriched | 38 |
Spaghetti, white, boiled 15 min. | 59 |
Spaghetti, boiled 5 min. | 52 |
Spaghetti, durum | 78 |
Spaghetti, wholewheat | 53 |
Vermicelli | 50 |
Snacks and sweets | |
Jelly beans | 114 |
Lifesavers | 100 |
Chocolate | 70 |
Chocolate bars | 91 |
Energy bars | 81 |
Maize snacks | 105 |
Muesli bars | 87 |
Popcorn | 79 |
Potato chips | 77 |
Peanuts | 21 |
Pretzels | 116 |
Soups | |
Bean soup | 92 |
Green pea soup, canned | 94 |
Lentil soup, canned | 63 |
Split pea soup, homemade | 86 |
Tomato soup | 54 |
Sugars | |
Honey | 104 |
Fructose | 32 |
Glucose powder | 138 |
Glucose tablets | 146 |
Maltose | 150 |
Sucrose (table sugar) | 92 |
Lactose | 65 |
High-fructose corn sugar (used as sweetener) | 89 |
Maltodextrin | 107 |
Vegetables | |
Beetroot | 91 |
Carrots | 101 |
Parsnips | 139 |
Peas, dried | 32 |
Peas, green | 68 |
Potato, instant mash | 118 |
Potato, baked | 121 |
Potato, new | 81 |
Potato, boiled | 80 |
Potato, boiled, mashed | 104 |
Potato, microwaved | 117 |
Potato chips, deep-fried (French fries) | 107 |
Pumpkin | 107 |
Sweet corn | 78 |
Sweet potato | 77 |
(Adapted from: “The Glycemic Indices of Foods.(2000). Krause, pp 1165-1167)
References
Blaauw R. (2001). The Glycaemic Index. SA J of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 14, No 3, p 82.
GI Working Group. (2003). News Release- Calculating Glycaemic Index.
Krause’s Food, Nutrition & Diet Therapy, 10th Ed. Appendix 54: The Glycemic Indices of Foods.(2000). L K Mahan & S Escott-Stump (Editors). pp 1165-1167. WB Saunders Co, Philadelphia, USA.
Vorster HH, Venter CS, Silvis N. (1990). The Glycaemic Index of Foods: A Critical
Evaluation. SA J of Food Science & Nutrition, Vol 1, No 1, pp 13-17.
- (Dr I.V. van Heerden, DietDoc, February 2007)
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