The low glycemic food chart list below is a compilation of the average glycemic index of some of the most common foods eaten in the western diet. It consists of basic ingredients for meals you make for yourself. If you are interested in a glycemic index chart of various processed foods (most of which are bad for your health, low glycemic or not) you can consult David Mendosa's Revised International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values.
Another useful tool is the University of Sydney's free searchable
GI database that has information about the GI values of thousands of different foods compiled from numerous international studies. Just type in the food you are curious about and it will provide you with its glycemic index number.
However, many simple foods such as cheese, meat, fish and most vegetables are not included on the low glycemic food chart list, mainly because they have little to no carbohydrate content and thus do not register or are very low on the glycemic index chart.
The following low glycemic food chart list is arranged by lowest to highest GI for each food category. Low glycemic ranges from 0 to 55 (in green), medium glycemic is 56 to 69 (in orange), and high glycemic is 70 and above (in red).
FOOD ITEMS |
GI |
---|---|
GRAINS |
|
Pearled barley, cooked | 28 |
Barley flour bread (80% barley, 20% white wheat flour) | 34 |
Rye kernel bread (80% kernels, 20% white wheat flour) | 41 |
Buckwheat, cooked | 45 |
Barley kernel bread | 45 |
Corn tortillas | 46 |
Cracked wheat, bulgur, boiled | 46 |
Buckwheat bread (50% dehusked buckwheat groats, 50% white flour) | 47 |
Spaghetti, whole meal | 48 |
Spaghetti, white, boiled 10-15 minutes | 49 |
Rye bread (50% rye flour, 50% wheat flour) | 50 |
Oat bran bread (45% oat bran, 50% white wheat flour) | 50 |
Oatmeal (thick, steel cut oats) | 52 |
Wheat kernel bread (80% intact kernels, 20% white wheat flour | 52 |
Quinoa | 53 |
Multi-grain bread | 53 |
Rice noodles, cooked | 53 |
Oatmeal (rolled oats), cooked | 55 |
Sweet corn | 55 |
Whole meal barley porridge | 56 |
Wild rice | 57 |
Whole meal spelt bread | 63 |
Couscous (from semolina-durham wheat) boiled 5 minutes | 65 |
Oat bread (80% intact oat kernels, 20% white wheat flour) | 65 |
Muesli | 66 |
Millet, boiled | 67 |
Brown rice, boiled | 68 |
Taco shells | 68 |
Cornmeal, boiled in salted water 2 minutes | 68 |
White Rice, boiled | 73 |
Whole wheat bread | 74 |
White flour bread | 75 |
Oatmeal (one-minute oats) | 79 |
Rice cakes | 82 |
White rice, boiled | 83 |
FRUITS |
|
Grapefruit | 25 |
Apples, Dried | 29 |
Prunes | 29 |
Apricots, Dried | 30 |
Apples, Raw | 36 |
Pears | 38 |
Plums | 39 |
Strawberries | 40 |
Oranges | 42 |
Apricots, Raw | 46 |
Grapes | 50 |
Kiwi | 52 |
Bananas | 53 |
Pineapple | 59 |
Papaya | 60 |
Figs, dried | 61 |
Raisins | 61 |
Cantaloupe | 68 |
Watermelon | 76 |
STARCHY VEGETABLES |
|
Carrots, peeled, boiled | 33 |
Carrots, raw, diced | 35 |
Sweet potatoes, boiled | 46 |
Potatoes, boiled | 49 |
Yams | 54 |
Beets | 64 |
French fries | 64 |
Potatoes, Mashed | 83 |
Potatoes, Baked | 111 |
LEGUMES |
|
Lentils, red, cooked | 21 |
Split peas, yellow, cooked | 25 |
Lentils, green, cooked | 30 |
Kidney beans | 31 |
Garbanzo beans, dried, soaked, boiled 35 minutes | 31 |
Navy beans, cooked | 35 |
Pinto beans, dried, boiled | 39 |
Pinto beans, canned | 45 |
DAIRY |
|
Cheese | 0 |
Greek yogurt | 12 |
Whole fat milk | 31 |
Yogurt, low fat, plain | 35 |
Skim milk | 36 |
Yogurt, low fat with fruit | 47 |
SWEETENERS |
|
Stevia | 0 |
Agave syrup* | 15 |
Fructose | 18 |
Raw honey | 30 |
Barley malt syrup | 42 |
Sugar cane juice | 43 |
Maple syrup | 54 |
Evaporated cane juice | 55 |
Black strap molasses | 55 |
Turbinado sugar | 65 |
Pasteurized honey | 71 |
Corn syrup | 75 |
Sucrose (white sugar) | 80 |
Brown rice syrup | 85 |
High fructose corn syrup | 87 |
Glucose | 100 |
*Agave syrup, while low on the glycemic scale, is high in fructose and no better for your health than HFCS.
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