Glycemic Index

Aka: Glycemic Index, Glycemic Food

II. Physiology: Glycemic Index (GI)

  1. Rate of food digestion relative to Glucose
    1. Compared to Glucose or white bread as the control
  2. High Glycemic Food adverse effects
    1. Hyperglycemia may persist for 2 hours after meal
      1. Stimulates higher Insulin release
    2. Hypoglycemia results within 2 to 4 hours after meal
      1. Stimulates appetite
      2. Raises free Fatty Acid levels
  3. Glycemic load (GL)
    1. Corrects Glycemic Index for serving size
    2. Examples
      1. Scone GI is high at 92, but GL is low at 8
      2. Arborio rice GI is only 69, but GL is high at 36

III. Indications: Focus on lower Glycemic Index foods

  1. Obesity Management
  2. Diabetes Mellitus Management
  3. Coronary Artery Disease Management

IV. High Glycemic Foods (index >60): Rapid energy source

  1. Beverage
    1. Carbonated soft drinks (non-diet)
    2. Maltodextrin, sugar solution (7.5%)
    3. Maltodextrin solution (20%)
    4. Sucrose solution (6%)
  2. Breads and grains
    1. Bagels
    2. Bran muffins
    3. White bread
    4. Whole wheat bread
    5. Corn flakes
    6. White short-grained rice or sweet rice (sticky rice)
    7. Doughnut
  3. Fruits
    1. Over-ripe bananas
    2. Raisins
    3. Watermelon
  4. Vegetables
    1. Carrots
    2. Baked potato

V. Moderate Glycemic Foods (index 40-60)

  1. Beverage
    1. Unsweetened apple juice
    2. Orange juice
  2. Breads and grains
    1. Whole grain rye bread
    2. Oatmeal
    3. Pasta (e.g. spaghetti)
    4. Rice (lowest GI in long grain, brown, and Basmati)
    5. Muesli
  3. Fruits
    1. Grapes
    2. Oranges
    3. Under-ripe Bananas
    4. Dates
  4. Vegetables
    1. Beets
    2. Yellow corn
    3. Peas
    4. Yams
  5. Legumes
    1. Baked beans
    2. Lentil soup

VI. Low Glycemic Foods (index <40): Constant energy source

  1. Fruits
    1. Apples
    2. Cherries
    3. Figs
    4. Ripe banana
  2. Grains
    1. Pearled barley and hulless barley
  3. Vegetables
    1. Broccoli
  4. Legumes
    1. Butter beans
    2. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
    3. Green beans
    4. Lentils
  5. Dairy products
    1. Milk
    2. Soy milk
    3. Yogurt
  6. Nuts
    1. Peanuts

VII. References

  1. Clark (1997) Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Human Kinetics
  2. Foster-Powell (2002) Am J Clin Nutr 76:5-56 [PubMed]
  3. Ludwig (2002) JAMA 287(18):2414-23 [PubMed]

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Related Studies

Ontology: Glycemic Index (C1136206)

Definition (CHV) a scale that ranks carbohydrate rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels
Definition (CHV) a scale that ranks carbohydrate rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels
Definition (NCI) A ranking of the relationship between various foods and glucose blood serum levels. The carbohydrate composition of the food directly effects the concentration of glucose in the blood. 2005
Definition (NCI_NCI-GLOSS) A measure of the increase in the level of blood glucose (a type of sugar) caused by eating a specific carbohydrate (food that contains sugar) compared with eating a standard amount of glucose. Foods with a high glycemic index release glucose quickly and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. Foods with a low glycemic index release glucose slowly into the blood. A relationship between the glycemic index and recurrent colorectal cancer is being studied.
Definition (MSH) A numerical system of measuring the rate of BLOOD GLUCOSE generation by a particular food item as compared to a reference item, such as glucose = 100. Foods with higher glycemic index numbers create greater blood sugar swings. These numbers do not correspond to calories or amounts of food intake but rather, depend on the rates of digestion and absorption of these food items.
Concepts Quantitative Concept (T081)
MSH D038321
English GI, Glycemic Index, glycemic index, glycemic indices, Glycemic Index Number, Glycemic Index Numbers, Glycemic Indices, Glycemic index
Swedish Glykemiskt index
Czech glykemický index
Finnish Glykeeminen indeksi
French Indice glycémique, Index glycémique
Russian GLIKEMII INDEKS, GLIKEMII POKAZATELI, ГЛИКЕМИИ ИНДЕКС, ГЛИКЕМИИ ПОКАЗАТЕЛИ
Japanese 血糖指数, 血糖インデックス, グリセミックインデックス, グライセミック･インデックス, 血糖上昇指数, 血糖指標
Polish Wskaźnik glikemiczny, Indeks glikemiczny
Norwegian Glykemisk indeks
Spanish Índice de Glucemia, Índice Glucémico
Portuguese Índice de Glicemia, Índice Glicêmico
German Glykämie-Index
Italian Indice glicemico
Dutch Glycemische index
Derived from the NIH UMLS (Unified Medical Language System)

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