Cancerwise

You probably know that eating a nutritious, balanced diet is important for your overall health. But when it comes to carbohydrates, not all foods affect your body the same way.

One tool that can help you make healthier food choices is the glycemic index (GI).

“The glycemic index is a rating system that measures how quickly foods containing carbohydrates raise your blood sugar,” says endocrinologist Nupur Kikani, M.D.

Here, she shares what the glycemic index is, how it works and how you can use it to make informed decisions about the foods you eat.

What is the glycemic index?

The glycemic index ranks foods containing carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100, based on how quickly they raise your blood glucose (sugar) levels. Pure glucose serves as the benchmark with a score of 100.

The glycemic index is classified into three levels: low, medium and high.

Low glycemic index foods

Low-GI foods have a score from 1 to 55. Your body absorbs and digests these foods slowly. This means they will not raise your blood sugar quickly.

Examples include:

• Apples
• Greek yogurt
• Steel-cut oats
• Unripe (green) bananas
• Boiled sweet potatoes
• Lentils
• Barley
• Cottage cheese

Medium glycemic index foods

Medium-GI foods have a score from 56 to 69. These types of foods are absorbed by your body at a moderate rate.

Examples include:

• Ripe bananas
• Corn
• Couscous
• Pineapple
• Honey

High glycemic index foods

High-GI foods have a score from 70 to 100. These foods are the closest to pure sugar. They are rapidly digested and can cause spikes in your blood sugar.

Examples include:

• White bread
• Pretzels
• Instant mashed potatoes
• Desserts
• Most breakfast cereals

Foods that don’t contain carbohydrates

Some foods either contain no carbs or so few carbs that they do not have a GI value. They have a GI score of 0.

Examples include:

• Meat, such as beef, pork and poultry
• Seafood
• Butter
• Eggs
• Dried herbs