Glycemic Index vs. Glycemic Load Food Chart

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Foods That Negatively Impact Fat Burning: Glycemic Index or Glycemic Load?

In today’s episode, lets talk about how the glycemic index and the glycemic load of foods affects your fat burning.

But first, tell me if this sounds familiar.

You wake up, you go to the bathroom, then you come out to the kitchen and make yourself a “healthy” breakfast consisting of Special K cereal, and since you’re on a fat loss diet, you pour some skim milk over top, and top it with a healthy sliced banana.

Other days when you’re in a rush, you may simply opt for a low fat bagel with margarine.

Does that sound like a healthy breakfast for fat loss?

Maybe if healthy meant spiking your blood with a quick overload of sugar.

Think about it, what is this breakfast mainly comprised of?

Carbohydrates.

And every carbohydrate in this breakfast has a higher glycemic rating on the glycemic index.

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So first…

What is the Glycemic Index?

The glycemic index is simply a measurement of how fast 50g of carbohydrates in foods can raise blood sugar levels after they are digested.

The higher the number, the quicker and more drastic rise in blood sugar levels occur, 2-3 hours after a meal.

Foods that raise blood sugar levels quickly are classified as high glycemic carbohydrates.

The lower the number, the slower the sugar finds its way into the bloodstream.

Foods with a glycemic index of:

above 70: quickly broken down into sugar.
55-70: moderately broken down into sugar.
less than 55: slowly broken down into sugar.

These foods are classified as Low Glycemic foods.

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As you know, when blood sugar quickly rises, excessive amounts of insulin is required to remove the sugar from the bloodstream.

This secretion of a lot of insulin also releases that fat storing LPL enzyme, that turns on your body’s fat storing switch.

So even though cereal is often marketed as part of a healthy balanced breakfast, most cereals have a 60-110 ranking on the glycemic index.

If your goal is fat loss, I typically recommend people limited the amount of foods with a glycemic index rating higher than 55.

What is the Glycemic Load?

The glycemic load of a food calculates how fast a serving of a carbohydrate rich food raises blood sugar levels. The lower the number, the less negative impact on your blood sugar.

Foods with a glycemic load of:

under 10: low impact on blood sugar.
10-20: medium impact on blood sugar.
above 20: high impact on blood sugar.

Foods with a higher glycemic load are also often classified as “trigger foods”, meaning they tend to be addictive as they can increase your hunger and your cravings, leading to you eating more and more of them.

What is the Difference Between The Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load?

To put it simply, the glycemic index measures how quickly carbohydrates break down and enter the bloodstream as sugar.

However, the glycemic index does not factor in the amount of carbohydrates in a standard serving size of that food.

A food could be a high glycemic food, but it could have very little carbohydrates in a serving size.

Therefore, in my opinion, the glycemic load, since it factors in the standard serving size, is a better measure of how a carbohydrate will affect blood sugar levels.

Check out this example:

A watermelon has a glycemic index of 72, meaning it is classified as a high glycemic carbohydrate.

However, that high glycemic index rating is based off of consuming 5 cups of watermelon (in order to fulfill the 50g of carbohydrate requirement).

It’s not based on the standard watermelon serving size of 1 cup.

The glycemic load of the watermelon is only 7.2, which classifies it as having a low glycemic load because at that standard serving size, it doesn’t contain many carbohydrates.

Since watermelon is mainly comprised of water, this means it has a lower glycemic load and a lower impact on blood sugar levels.

Before judging the glycemic effect of a certain food…

Check out the glycemic index and glycemic load chart below that not only lists the glycemic index ranking of the foods, but more importantly, it lists the glycemic load.

How To Eat Limit The Negative Effects of High Glycemic Foods

If we lived in a perfect world, you’d eliminate all high glycemic foods if your goal was fat loss.

But, as a Live Leaner, we live in reality, meaning we strive for balance.

Therefore, there is a food combining strategy that can help reduce the glycemic response of higher glycemic foods.

By eating lower glycemic foods, especially these foods listed below, with higher glycemic foods, the body will trigger less insulin production, thus reducing the amount of damage typically caused by excessive production of insulin.

Foods That Lower The Glycemic Response Include:

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Strawberries

Foods high in healthy omega 3 fats and healthy sources of fat:

Coconut oil, Grass Fed Butter, Fish Oil, Olive Oil

Herbs and spices:

Fenugreek and Cinnamon as they can improve blood sugar response and insulin sensitivity.

Pickled foods
Flavor foods with: Lemon, Lime, and Vinegars

So next time you have a craving for:

Pasta: add some coconut oil.
Cereal or oats: add a serving of berries on top with a few dashes of cinnamon.
Toast: add some natural strawberry jam or look for gluten free bread made with the herb fenugreek.
Yogurt: add some berries and cinnamon.

Bottom Line:

Always stock your fridge with lower glycemic foods.

Remember, “Fat-Free” doesn’t mean these foods won’t make you fat.

Fat-Free simply means they are low in dietary fat, which in a lot of cases, isn’t a good thing.

This is because when food manufacturers remove naturally occurring fat from food, they need to add something back in to that food to replace it.

More often than not, “fat-free” typically means the food manufacturers have added high glycemic ingredients like sugar back into the food.

GLYCEMIC INDEX & GLYCEMIC LOAD CHART:

Below is a list of foods that fall within the low glycemic (best), medium glycemic (ok), and high glycemic (limit) rankings for both the glycemic load and glycemic index.

Foods with a glycemic INDEX of:

above 70: quickly broken down into sugar.
55-70: moderately broken down into sugar.
less than 55: slowly broken down into sugar.

Foods with a glycemic LOAD of:

under 10: low impact on blood sugar.
10-20: medium impact on blood sugar.
above 20: high impact on blood sugar.

CEREAL & BAKED GOODS: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load


FOOD	GLYCEMIC LOAD	RANKING	SERVING SIZE (g)	GLYCEMIC INDEX	RANKING
Angel Food Cake	10.7	Medium	28 (1 slice)	67	Medium
Bagel	33	High	89	72	High
Blueberry Muffin	30	High	113 (medium)	59	Medium
Bran Flakes	13.3	Medium	29 (3/4 cup)	74	High
Bran Muffin	30	High	113 (medium)	60	Medium
Bread (Pumpernickel)	4.5	Low	26 (1 slice)	41	Low
Bread (Rye)	8.5	Low	32 (1 slice)	65	Medium
Bread (Wheat)	7.7	Low	28 (1 slice)	70	High
Bread (White)	8.4	Low	28 (1 slice)	70	High
Cake (chocolate frosting)	12.5	Medium	64 (1 slice)	38	Low
Cake (vanilla frosting)	16	Medium	64 (1 slice)	42	Low
Cheerios	13.3	Medium	30 (1 cup)	74	High
Chicken Nuggets	7	Low	100	46	Low
Cookie (oatmeal)	6	Low	18 (1 cookie)	55	Medium
Corn Bread	30.8	High	60 (1 piece)	110	High
Corn Chex	20.8	High	30 (1 cup)	83	High
Corn Flakes	21.1	High	28 (1 cup)	92	High
Corn Pops	22.4	High	31 (1 cup)	80	High
Corn Tortilla	7.7	Low	24 (1 tortilla)	70	High
Croissant (butter)	17.5	Medium	57 (1 croissant)	67	Medium
Donut (glazed)	24.3	High	75 (1 donut)	76	High
French Bread	29.5	High	64 (1 slice)	95	High
Graham Crackers	8.1	Low	14 (2 crackers)	74	High
Grape Nuts	31.5	High	58 (1/2 cup)	75	High
Kaiser Roll	21.2	High	57 (1 roll)	73	High
Melba Toast	5.6	Low	12 (4 pieces)	70	High
Oatmeal	6.4	Low	117 (1/2 cup)	58	Medium
Oatmeal (instant)	13.7	Medium	234 (1 cup)	65	Medium
Pita (whole wheat)	17	Medium	64 (1 pita)	57	Medium
Pizza (meat, cheese, sauce)	9	Low	100	36	Low
Pocorn	2.8	Low	8 (1 cup)	55	Medium
Pound Cake	8.1	Low	30 (1 piece)	54	Low
Raisin Bran	24.4	High	61 (1 cup)	61	Medium
Rice Krispies	23	High	33 (1 1/4 cups)	82	High
Special K	14.5	Medium	31 (1 cup)	69	Medium
Taco Shell	4.8	Low	13 (1 shell)	68	Medium
Waffle	18.7	High	75 (1 waffle)	76	High

FRUIT: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load


FOOD	GLYCEMIC LOAD	RANKING	SERVING SIZE (g)	GLYCEMIC INDEX	RANKING
Apple	6.2	Low	138 (medium)	39	Low
Apricots (dried)	23	High	130 (1 cup)	32	Low
Apricots (canned in syrup)	24.3	High	253 (1 cup)	64	Medium
Banana (ripe)	12.2	Medium	118 (medium)	56	Medium
Blueberries	9.6	Low	150 g	54	Low
Canteloupe	7.8	Low	177 (1 cup)	65	Medium
Cherries	3.7	Low	117 (1 cup)	22	Low
Figs	2.0	Low	100 g	51	Low
Fruit Cocktail (drained)	19.8	Medium	214 (1 cup)	55	Medium
Grapes	6.5	Low	92 (1 cup)	43	Low
Grapefruit	2.8	Low	123 (1/2 whole)	25	Low
Kiwi	5.2	Low	76 (1 kiwi)	58	Medium
Mango	12.8	Medium	165 (1 cup)	51	Low
Nectarines	4.0	Low	120 g	42	Low
Orange	7.2	Low	140 (1 orange)	48	Low
Papaya	6.6	Low	140 (1 cup)	60	Medium
Peaches	2.2	Low	98 (medium)	28	Low
Peaches (canned in syrup)	28.4	High	262 (1 cup)	58	Low
Pears	6.9	Low	166 (medium)	33	Low
Pears (canned in juice)	12.3	Medium	248 (1 cup)	44	Low
Pineapple	11.9	Medium	155 (1 cup)	66	Medium
Plum	1.7	Low	66 (1 plum)	24	Low
Prunes	34.2	High	132 (1 cup)	29	Low
Raspberries	2.6	Low	150 g	32	Low
Raisins	20.5	High	43 (small box)	64	Medium
Strawberries	3.6	Low	152 (1 cup)	40	Low
Watermelon	7.2	Low	152 (1 cup)	72	High

VEGETABLES: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load


FOOD	GLYCEMIC LOAD	RANKING	SERVING SIZE (g)	GLYCEMIC INDEX	RANKING
Beets (canned)	9.6	Low	246 (1/2 cup)	64	Medium
Broccoli (cooked)	0	Low	78 (1/2 cup)	0	Low
Cabbage	0	Low	75 (1/2 cup)	0	Low
Carrot (raw)	1	Low	15 (1 large)	92	High
Cauliflower	0	Low	100 (1 cup)	0	Low
Celery (raw)	0	Low	62 (1 stalk)	0	Low
Corn (yellow)	61.5	High	166 (1 cup)	55	Medium
Green Beans	0	Low	135 (1 cup)	0	Low
Mushrooms	0	Low	70 (1 cup)	0	Low
Parsnip	11.6	Medium	78 (1/2 cup)	97	High
Peas (frozen)	3.4	Low	72 (1/2 cup)	48	Low
Potato	36.4	High	213 (medium)	104	High
Spinach	0	Low	30 (1 cup)	0	Low
Sweet Potato	12.4	Medium	133 (1 cup)	54	Medium
Tomato	1.5	Low	123 (medium)	38	Low
Yam	16.8	Medium	136 (1 cup)	51	Low

CANDY: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load


FOOD	GLYCEMIC LOAD	RANKING	SERVING SIZE (g)	GLYCEMIC INDEX	RANKING
Corn Chips	11	Medium	50	42	Low
Dove Dark Chocolate Bar	4.4	Low	37 (1 oz)	23	Low
Fruit Roll-Ups	24	High	30	99	High
Honey	3	Low	15 (1 tbsp)	87	High
Jelly Beans	22	High	30 (1 oz)	78	High
Peanut M&Ms	5.6	Low	30 (1 oz)	33	Low
Popcorn (microwave, plain)	7	Low	20	65	Medium
Potato Chips	12	Medium	50	56	Low
Pretzels	16	Medium	30	83	High
Snickers Bar	23	High	60 (1/2 bar)	68	Low
Table Sugar	7	Low	8 (2 tsp)	68	Medium

DRINKS: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load


FOOD	GLYCEMIC LOAD	RANKING	SERVING SIZE (g)	GLYCEMIC INDEX	RANKING
Apple Juice	11.9	Medium	243 (1 cup)	41	Low
Carrot Juice	10	Medium	249 (1 cup)	57	Medium
Cranberry Juice	24.5	High	253 (1 cup)	68	Medium
Dairy Milk (whole)	4.4	Low	244 (1 cup)	40	Low
Gatorade Powder	11.7	Medium	16 (3/4 scoop)	78	High
Grapefruit Juice (sweetened)	13.4	Medium	250 (1 cup)	48	Low
Hot Chocolate Mix	11.7	Medium	28 (1 packet)	51	Low
Orange Juice	14.25	Medium	249 (1 cup)	57	Medium
Pineapple Juice	14.7	Medium	250 (1 cup)	46	Low
Soda (cola)	25.2	High	370 (12 oz)	63	Medium
Soy Milk	4	Low	245 (1 cup)	44	Low
Tomato Juice	3.4	Low	243 (1 cup)	38	Low

LEGUMES: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load


FOOD	GLYCEMIC LOAD	RANKING	SERVING SIZE (g)	GLYCEMIC INDEX	RANKING
Baked Beans	18.2	Medium	253 (1 cup)	48	Low
Chick Peas	13.3	Medium	240 (1 cup)	31	Low
Hummus	0	Low	30	6	Low
Kidney Beans	7	Low	256 (1 cup)	27	Low
Lentils	7	Low	198 (1 cup)	29	Low
Lima Beans	7.4	Low	241 (1 cup)	31	Low
Peanuts	1.6	Low	146 (1 cup)	13	Low
Pinto Beans	11.7	Medium	171 (1 cup)	39	Low
Soy Beans	1.4	Low	172 (1 cup)	20	Low

DAIRY: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load


FOOD	GLYCEMIC LOAD	RANKING	SERVING SIZE (g)	GLYCEMIC INDEX	RANKING
Ice Cream	6	Low	72 (1/2 cup)	38	Low
Ice Cream (low fat)	9.4	Low	76 (1/2 cup)	47	Low
Milk (full fat)	4	Low	250 (1 cup)	31	Low
Milk (skim)	4	Low	250 (1 cup)	31	Low
Pudding	8.4	Low	100 (1/2 cup)	44	Low
Yogurt (plain)	6.1	Low	245 (1 cup)	36	Low

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Brad Gouthro

Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.

www.liveleantv.com

35 responses to “Glycemic Index vs. Glycemic Load Food Chart”

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Jamaal Aziz says:

July 22, 2020 at 11:59 am

Hello i was wondering if your pre diabetic would going by the load side of the chart be good for you? I would think you should strictly go by the actual glycemic ranking alone?

Reply
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Alex says:

October 5, 2016 at 10:26 am

Nice overview, Brad.
Are walnuts low / moderate / high glycemic?
Sweet potatoes appear under low and moderate glycemic – what’s right?

Thanks,
Alex

Reply
1. Brad Gouthro says:
  
  December 4, 2017 at 1:53 pm
  
  Hey Alex, walnuts are low glycemic. Sweet potatoes and medium glycemic.
  
  Reply
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