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Glycemic index & load,
the full picture.
Look up the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of any food, or build a full meal and see its combined blood-sugar impact — with a traffic-light rating and carb-weighted blended GI.
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Food lookup
Select food
White rice
Glycemic Index
73
Glycemic Load
32.9
= 73 × 45.0g ÷ 100
Classification guide
Quick reference
GI & GL values for 57 common foods
Click any row to load that food into the lookup tool.
| Food | GI | Class |
|---|---|---|
| White bread | 75 | High |
| Whole wheat bread | 74 | High |
| Sourdough bread | 53 | Low |
| Pumpernickel bread | 41 | Low |
| Rye bread | 58 | Medium |
| Bagel (plain) | 69 | Medium |
| Flour tortilla | 30 | Low |
| White rice | 73 | High |
| Brown rice | 68 | Medium |
| Jasmine rice | 109 | High |
| Basmati rice | 57 | Medium |
| Quinoa | 53 | Low |
| Spaghetti (white) | 49 | Low |
| Spaghetti (whole wheat) | 48 | Low |
| Couscous | 65 | Medium |
| Oatmeal (rolled oats) | 55 | Low |
| Instant oatmeal | 79 | High |
| Corn Flakes | 81 | High |
| Rice Krispies | 82 | High |
| All-Bran | 55 | Low |
| Cheerios | 74 | High |
| Muesli (toasted) | 57 | Medium |
| Sweet potato (boiled) | 63 | Medium |
| White potato (boiled) | 78 | High |
| Baked potato | 85 | High |
| Sweet corn (canned) | 52 | Low |
| Carrots (cooked) | 39 | Low |
| Parsnips (cooked) | 52 | Low |
| Green peas (frozen) | 51 | Low |
| Apple | 38 | Low |
| Banana (ripe) | 51 | Low |
| Banana (overripe) | 62 | Medium |
| Watermelon | 76 | High |
| Mango | 60 | Medium |
| Grapes | 59 | Medium |
| Orange | 45 | Low |
| Strawberries | 40 | Low |
| Pineapple | 59 | Medium |
| Cherries | 22 | Low |
| Chickpeas (canned) | 28 | Low |
| Lentils (cooked) | 32 | Low |
| Black beans (cooked) | 30 | Low |
| Kidney beans (cooked) | 24 | Low |
| Soybeans (cooked) | 16 | Low |
| Milk (whole) | 41 | Low |
| Milk (skim) | 37 | Low |
| Yogurt (plain, lowfat) | 36 | Low |
| Ice cream (vanilla) | 57 | Medium |
| Potato chips | 56 | Medium |
| Pretzels | 83 | High |
| Popcorn (air-popped) | 65 | Medium |
| Rice cakes (plain) | 82 | High |
| Jelly beans | 80 | High |
| Dark chocolate (70%) | 23 | Low |
| Honey | 58 | Medium |
| White sugar (sucrose) | 65 | Medium |
| Orange juice | 50 | Low |
| Apple juice | 44 | Low |
| Coca-Cola | 63 | Medium |
| Sports drink (Gatorade) | 78 | High |
GI values: Atkinson et al., Diabetes Care 2008 & Glycemic Index Foundation. GL = GI × carbs per serving ÷ 100. Values are typical; actual GI may vary by preparation.
GI & GL guide
Glycemic index vs. glycemic load: what's the difference?
Most people have heard of the glycemic index, but far fewer understand its important limitation — and why glycemic load gives a more practical picture of how a food actually affects your blood sugar. Understanding both metrics helps you make smarter choices without unnecessarily restricting nutritious foods.
What is the Glycemic Index (GI)?
The Glycemic Index ranks carbohydrate-containing foods on a scale of 0 to 100 based on how quickly they raise blood glucose levels compared to pure glucose (which is assigned a GI of 100). Foods are tested by having people consume 50 grams of digestible carbohydrate from the food and measuring blood glucose response over two hours.
High-GI foods cause a rapid spike in blood glucose followed by a sharp drop. Low-GI foods produce a slower, more gradual rise. But GI alone doesn't tell you how much carbohydrate you're actually consuming — that's where glycemic load comes in.
What is Glycemic Load (GL)?
Glycemic Load accounts for both the GI of a food and the amount of carbohydrate in a realistic serving. It was introduced to address one of the most common criticisms of GI: that a food can have a high GI yet have very little carbohydrate per serving, making it far less impactful than its GI suggests.
Watermelon is the classic example. Its GI is 76 — technically "high" — but a typical 2-cup serving contains only about 12g of carbohydrate, giving a GL of just 9 (low). Eating a serving of watermelon has far less blood-sugar impact than eating a slice of white bread (GI 75, but ~14g carbs per slice, GL 10.5). The practical difference is small here, but for other foods the gap can be dramatic.
Factors that affect GI
GI is not a fixed property of a food — it can vary significantly based on preparation, ripeness, processing, and what else is in the meal:
- Cooking method: Pasta cooked al dente (firm) has a lower GI (~40–50) than the same pasta cooked soft (~60+). Baked potatoes have a higher GI than boiled potatoes.
- Ripeness: A ripe banana has a GI of about 62; an unripe banana is around 30. As starch converts to sugar during ripening, GI rises.
- Food form: Whole-grain bread and fine wholemeal bread have very similar GI values because the milling process breaks down the grain structure. Intact whole grains (intact kernels of wheat or barley) have significantly lower GI.
- Acidity: Adding vinegar or lemon juice to a meal lowers its glycemic response, which is partly why sourdough bread (with its lactic acid) has a much lower GI than regular white bread made with the same flour.
- Fat and protein: Adding fat (butter, olive oil) or protein to a carbohydrate food slows digestion and lowers the GI of the meal.
Mixed meals and blended GI
We rarely eat a single food in isolation. For a mixed meal, the effective glycemic impact can be estimated using a carbohydrate-weighted average of the GI values of each component:
Total meal GL = Σ (GI_i × carbs_i × servings_i) ÷ 100
The total meal GL is the most practical single number for estimating the blood-glucose impact of what you're eating. A low-GL meal (≤15) produces a modest blood sugar response. A high-GL meal (≥25) is likely to cause a significant spike, especially in people with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.
GI, GL, and diabetes management
For people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, understanding GI and GL can be a useful tool alongside carbohydrate counting. Multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses have found that low-GI diets are associated with improved glycemic control (lower HbA1c), reduced fasting glucose, and improved lipid profiles.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) acknowledges low-GI eating as one of several effective dietary approaches for diabetes management. However, carbohydrate quantity (total carbs) remains the primary predictor of blood glucose response, and total GL combines both quantity and quality into a single metric.
Low-GI eating: practical strategies
- Choose intact or minimally processed whole grains over refined grains (bulgur and barley over white bread).
- Opt for legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans) as a regular carbohydrate source — all have GIs below 40.
- Eat pasta al dente, not overcooked.
- Choose basmati or Doongara rice over jasmine rice, which has one of the highest GIs of any common food (GI ~109).
- Include protein and healthy fat with every carbohydrate-containing meal to lower the meal's overall GI.
- Add acid (vinegar, lemon juice, tomatoes) to meals — it slows glucose absorption.
- Prioritise whole fruit over juice — the fibre matrix in whole fruit significantly lowers GI.
Medical disclaimer
This tool is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Glycemic index and glycemic load values are estimates based on published research data and may vary based on food preparation, individual physiology, and other factors. If you have diabetes, pre-diabetes, or any other health condition that requires dietary management, please consult a registered dietitian, certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES), or your physician before making significant changes to your diet. Do not use this tool to make medical decisions.