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Diabet Med. Wolever TM, Jenkins AL, Vuksan V, Campbell J. The glycaemic index values of foods containing fructose are affected by metabolic differences between subjects. Goff LM, Cowland DE, Hooper L, Frost GS. Low glycaemic index diets and blood lipids: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Willett W, Manson J, Liu S. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2 diabetes. Gross LS, Li L, Ford ES, Liu S. Increased consumption of refined carbohydrates and the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United States: an ecologic assessment.

Bhupathiraju SN, Tobias DK, Malik VS, et al. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from 3 large US cohorts and an updated meta-analysis. Mosdol A, Witte DR, Frost G, Marmot MG, Brunner EJ.

Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load are associated with high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol at baseline but not with increased risk of diabetes in the Whitehall II study. Sahyoun NR, Anderson AL, Tylavsky FA, et al.

Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load and the risk of type 2 diabetes in older adults. Sakurai M, Nakamura K, Miura K, et al. Dietary glycemic index and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Japanese men. Sluijs I, Beulens JW, van der Schouw YT, et al.

Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and digestible carbohydrate intake are not associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in eight European countries.

van Woudenbergh GJ, Kuijsten A, Sijbrands EJ, Hofman A, Witteman JC, Feskens EJ. Glycemic index and glycemic load and their association with C-reactive protein and incident type 2 diabetes. J Nutr Metab. Villegas R, Liu S, Gao YT, et al. Prospective study of dietary carbohydrates, glycemic index, glycemic load, and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Chinese women.

Arch Intern Med. Greenwood DC, Threapleton DE, Evans CE, et al. Glycemic index, glycemic load, carbohydrates, and type 2 diabetes: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Diabetes Care.

Livesey G, Taylor R, Livesey H, Liu S. Is there a dose-response relation of dietary glycemic load to risk of type 2 diabetes? Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Dyson PA, Kelly T, Deakin T, et al. Diabetes UK evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes. Mann JI, De Leeuw I, Hermansen K, et al. Evidence-based nutritional approaches to the treatment and prevention of diabetes mellitus.

American Diabetes Association. Prevention or delay of type 2 diabetes. Ma XY, Liu JP, Song ZY. Glycemic load, glycemic index and risk of cardiovascular diseases: meta-analyses of prospective studies.

Dong JY, Zhang YH, Wang P, Qin LQ. Meta-analysis of dietary glycemic load and glycemic index in relation to risk of coronary heart disease. Am J Cardiol. Fan J, Song Y, Wang Y, Hui R, Zhang W. Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and stroke mortality: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

PLoS One. Mirrahimi A, de Souza RJ, Chiavaroli L, et al. Associations of glycemic index and load with coronary heart disease events: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohorts. J Am Heart Assoc. Turati F, Dilis V, Rossi M, et al. Glycemic load and coronary heart disease in a Mediterranean population: the EPIC Greek cohort study.

Liu S, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, et al. A prospective study of dietary glycemic load, carbohydrate intake, and risk of coronary heart disease in US women. Beulens JW, de Bruijne LM, Stolk RP, et al. High dietary glycemic load and glycemic index increase risk of cardiovascular disease among middle-aged women: a population-based follow-up study.

J Am Coll Cardiol. Cai X, Wang C, Wang S, et al. Carbohydrate intake, glycemic index, glycemic load, and stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Asia Pac J Public Health. Rossi M, Turati F, Lagiou P, Trichopoulos D, La Vecchia C, Trichopoulou A. Relation of dietary glycemic load with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke: a cohort study in Greece and a meta-analysis.

Eur J Nutr. Buscemi S, Cosentino L, Rosafio G, et al. Effects of hypocaloric diets with different glycemic indexes on endothelial function and glycemic variability in overweight and in obese adult patients at increased cardiovascular risk. Clin Nutr. Bullo M, Casas R, Portillo MP, et al.

Liu S, Manson JE, Buring JE, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Ridker PM. Relation between a diet with a high glycemic load and plasma concentrations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in middle-aged women.

Jones JL, Park Y, Lee J, Lerman RH, Fernandez ML. A Mediterranean-style, low-glycemic-load diet reduces the expression of 3-hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase in mononuclear cells and plasma insulin in women with metabolic syndrome. Nutr Res. Turati F, Galeone C, Gandini S, et al.

High glycemic index and glycemic load are associated with moderately increased cancer risk. Mol Nutr Food Res. Aune D, Chan DS, Lau R, et al. Carbohydrates, glycemic index, glycemic load, and colorectal cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Cancer Causes Control.

Choi Y, Giovannucci E, Lee JE. Glycaemic index and glycaemic load in relation to risk of diabetes-related cancers: a meta-analysis. Br J Nutr. Mulholland HG, Murray LJ, Cardwell CR, Cantwell MM.

Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of digestive tract neoplasms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mullie P, Koechlin A, Boniol M, Autier P, Boyle P. Relation between breast cancer and high glycemic index or glycemic load: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. Tsai CJ, Leitzmann MF, Willett WC, Giovannucci EL. Dietary carbohydrates and glycaemic load and the incidence of symptomatic gall stone disease in men. Glycemic load, glycemic index, and carbohydrate intake in relation to risk of cholecystectomy in women.

Wang Q, Xia W, Zhao Z, Zhang H. Effects comparison between low glycemic index diets and high glycemic index diets on HbA1c and fructosamine for patients with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Prim Care Diabetes. Evert AB, Boucher JL.

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A randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a low-glycemic index diet on pregnancy outcomes in gestational diabetes mellitus. Louie JC, Markovic TP, Ross GP, Foote D, Brand-Miller JC. Effect of a low glycaemic index diet in gestational diabetes mellitus on post-natal outcomes after 3 months of birth: a pilot follow-up study.

Matern Child Nutr. Markovic TP, Muirhead R, Overs S, et al. Randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a low-glycemic index diet on pregnancy outcomes in women at high risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: The GI Baby 3 Study.

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Fructose, she points out, ranks a healthy-sounding 19 on the GI, but its consumption is associated with diabetes and heart disease 3 — another oversight because the GI does not consider chronic disease risk.

A candy bar, which is loaded with sucrose but contains little glucose, gets a better GI score than a slice of whole-grain bread, she adds. Furthermore, there are numerous rankings for the same food, making the GI confusing for physicians and patients. Patterson cites the example of rice, which has different entries for various brands and regional varieties, further sub-divided by cooking method 4.

The GI scores range from 37 for Chinese rice vermicelli, cooked for 8 min to Jasmine rice, Reindeer brand, made in a rice cooker. These differences can be compounded by how the GI score is determined. When seven different labs assessed the same type of rice, GI scores ranged from 55 to 87 5.

Cooked rice, when eaten hot, causes a higher glycemic response than the same rice eaten cold 6. The same is true of other starchy foods like potatoes. One of the biggest issues with the index, says Patterson, is that it tests carbohydrates alone to derive a GI score, but these foods are rarely eaten in isolation.

Most are consumed as part of meals also containing fat, protein and fibre, which alter glucose absorption and blood-sugar levels. Attempts have been made to modify the GI to better reflect real life.

The glycemic load GL adjusts GI scores for portion sizes, but it creates some confusing scenarios. High-GI foods may have a low GL. Watermelon, for example, has a GI of 72, but the GL of a standard-sized portion is only 4.

Not only does the GL suffer from the same issues as the GI, it is impractical for real world situations. Ongoing research continues to highlight individualized glycemic responses to foods.

Dietary habits, physical activity, body composition and gut microbiota were all important factors in response 7. A more recent study assessed the postprandial metabolic responses of more than 1, healthy adults, eating identical meals over a 2-week period. Continuous glucose monitors mapped blood sugar levels and revealed large inter-individual variability, even between identical twins — suggesting that genetics were not the main cause of the differences 8.

Such is the variability that even the same person can exhibit different responses to the same food eaten on consecutive days 9 or at different times of the day Altogether, such studies have found that many biological and behavioural factors influence glycemic response, including age, stress, health status, baseline insulin levels, alcohol consumption and sleep.

The upshot is that people with type 2 diabetes, and their physicians are in need of more holistic dietary tools. In , an expert panel report outlined ways to revamp carbohydrate assessment The authors — including Slavin — outlined the need for a more expansive, standardized, evidence-based way to evaluate carbohydrate quality.

The panel envisioned a single simple carbohydrate-food metric that melds multiple intrinsic properties, including total fibre content, nutrient density, food group designation and processing effects. By separating the intrinsic food values from the extrinsic effects, there is a clearer pathway to fully personalized nutrition, says Patterson.

Research can then build by better understanding the effects that carbohydrate quality has on human health. Many labs are already working towards developing such predictive models. For more information about this issue, check out some of the latest science and resources at potatogoodness.

United States Diabetes Surveillance System April Google Scholar. Naser, K. SRL Diabetes Metab. Andres-Hernando, A. et al. Cell Metab. Atkinson, F. Am J Clin Nutrition 5 — Wolever, T. Am J Clin Nutr.

Dhar, Amrit, et al. Int J Res Med Sci , 9 , Zeevi, D.

The hormone glucagon helps release glucose stored in the liver when blood sugar levels are low. This process helps keep the body fueled and blood sugar in balance.

The glycemic index ranks the effect food has on blood sugar levels. A low-GI diet suggests foods that have low GI values. The categories are:. In order to assign a rank, also called a GI value, researchers usually compare the effect of eating a food with the effect of eating sugar on blood sugar levels.

Sometimes the comparison is made with eating white bread. For example, to test the GI value of cantaloupe, 10 or more healthy people eat enough cantaloupe to digest 50 grams of total carbohydrates.

That is about one medium cantaloupe for each person. Over the next two hours, their blood sugar levels are tested several times. On another day, the same 10 people eat or drink 50 grams 12 teaspoons of sugar. Again, their blood sugar levels are tested several times over two hours. The researchers compare the results of eating sugar with eating cantaloupe to rank the effect of eating cantaloupe.

The GI value for cantaloupe is 65 to The glycemic index doesn't consider how much of a food you are likely to eat during a meal. For example, you likely wouldn't eat a whole medium-sized cantaloupe at once. To focus on this problem, researchers developed the idea of glycemic load GL.

This number shows the effect on blood sugar levels when you eat a common portion of the food. For example, you might eat one-third of a medium-sized cantaloupe during one meal. The GL value for that much cantaloupe is around 11 or lower. Sydney University's table of GI values also includes GL values.

The GL values are divided into:. A GI value tells you nothing about other nutritional information. For example, cantaloupe has a medium to high GI score and a medium GL score. But it is a good source of vitamin C, beta carotene and other important nutrients. Whole milk has a low GI value and a low GL value.

But it's high in fats and calories. So it may not a good choice for losing or controlling weight. The published GI database is not a complete list of foods.

Instead, it's a list of foods that have been studied. Many nutritious foods with low GI values may not be in the database. The list also includes highly processed foods which may be less nutritious than unprocessed foods.

And some foods with low GI values may not be good sources of nutrients. The GI value of any food item depends on many factors. It matters how the food is prepared and how it is processed. Also, there can be a range in GI values for the same foods.

So the values may not be reliable for all food choices. If you follow a low-GI diet, your foods with carbs are mostly limited to choices with low values. You usually will avoid foods with high values.

Examples of foods with low, middle and high GI values are:. Commercial low-GI diets may refer to foods as having slow carbs or fast carbs.

This is because foods with a low GI value are digested and absorbed over a longer time. Foods with high values are absorbed over a shorter time.

Studies of low-GI diets have shown varied results. In general, they have shown a low-GI diet may be helpful for:. Researchers have noted the benefit of the diet may be linked to the nutrient-rich foods and high-fiber foods in the studies.

The overall nutritional quality of the food may be more important than the GI value of each food item. Following a low-GI diet may help you lose weight or keep a healthy weight.

It may help you manage a diabetes plan. It may lower your risk of diabetes and heart and blood vessel diseases. The glycemic index also could be one tool, rather than the main tool, to help you make healthier food choices.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends a focus on healthy dietary patterns and nutrient-rich foods.

A healthy dietary pattern means making consistently healthy choices over time. Foods that fit in that pattern vary.

They include a variety of fruits and vegetables that provide vitamins, minerals and fiber. A healthy dietary pattern also includes whole-grain foods that are high in fiber and other nutrients.

This means their blood glucose levels may rise above the level considered optimal. Now consider 2 common breakfast foods — cornflakes and porridge made from wholegrain oats. The rate at which porridge and cornflakes are broken down to glucose is different.

Porridge is digested to simple sugars much more slowly than cornflakes, so the body has a chance to respond with production of insulin, and the rise in blood glucose levels is less. For this reason, porridge is a better choice of breakfast cereal than cornflakes for people with type 2 diabetes.

It will also provide more sustained energy for people without diabetes. On the other hand, high GI foods can be beneficial at replenishing glycogen in the muscles after strenuous exercise.

For example, eating 5 jellybeans will help to raise blood glucose levels quickly. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. Learn all about alcohol - includes standard drink size, health risks and effects, how to keep track of your drinking, binge drinking, how long it takes to leave the body, tips to lower intake.

A common misconception is that anorexia nervosa only affects young women, but it affects all genders of all ages. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals from the body's cells, and prevent or reduce the damage caused by oxidation. No special diet or 'miracle food' can cure arthritis, but some conditions may be helped by avoiding or including certain foods.

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The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website. Skip to main content. Healthy eating. Home Healthy eating. Carbohydrates and the glycaemic index. Actions for this page Listen Print.

Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. About the glycaemic index GI Digesting and absorbing carbohydrates The glycaemic index GI Glycaemic load GL GI and exercise Using the GI as a guide to healthy eating Choosing between high and low GI foods Where to get help.

About the glycaemic index GI Foods and drinks provide our body with energy in the form of carbohydrates, fat , protein and alcohol. Digesting and absorbing carbohydrates The digestive system breaks down carbohydrates in foods and drinks into simple sugars, mainly glucose.

The glycaemic index GI The glycaemic index GI is a way of ranking carbohydrate-containing foods based on how slowly or quickly they are digested and increase blood glucose levels over a period of time — usually 2 hours. These ranges, along with some example foods, include: low GI less than 55 — examples include soy products, beans, fruit, milk, pasta, grainy bread, porridge oats and lentils medium GI 55 to 70 — examples include orange juice, honey, basmati rice and wholemeal bread high GI greater than 70 — examples include potatoes, white bread and short-grain rice.

Glycaemic load GL The amount of the carbohydrate-containing food you eat affects your blood glucose levels. Calculating glycaemic load GL The GL calculation is: GI x the amount of carbohydrates in grams in a serving of food ÷ GI and exercise Eating low GI foods 2 hours before endurance events, such as long-distance running, may improve exercise capacity.

Over time, these come with complications and tend to cause many uncomfortable symptoms — including fatigue, sugar cravings, changes in blood pressure, weight loss or gain, nerve damage, and jitteriness or nervousness.

On the other hand, eating balanced meals — such as those that include a healthy complex carb, a source of protein and some healthy fat — helps keep you more satisfied, energized and focused throughout the day.

Processed foods made with lots of added sugar and flour are usually the highest on the glycemic index. The World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization now recommend basing your diet on low-GI foods in order to prevent the most common diseases affecting those in industrialized nations — including coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.

To reduce the glycemic load of your diet, experts recommend making some of the following changes:. Keep in mind that in addition to considering the glycemic index score of the individual foods you eat, how you combine different foods is very important.

Foods to pair together that can be helpful for managing blood sugar levels, energy and hunger include:. Keep in mind that we need some carbohydrates, specifically unprocessed types, for things like energy and strength. So to avoid all simple carbs as a strict rule would mean eliminating these and other healthy simple carbs from your diet.

Dietitians, doctors, scientists and researchers realized that there are simple carbs that are good for you and complex carbs that can cause unhealthy responses in the body.

When it comes to deciding which foods are best, keep things simple by using common sense and choosing those that are the least processed. There are many charts, scales, measurements and glycemic index calculator tools when it comes to foods we should eat and ones we should avoid.

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