Glycemic Index Table

The Glycemic Index Table below is helpful to determine what to eat to lose weight, but beware, it can be very deceptive to only look at the GI. Always have an eye on the calories contained in the foods too!

The table below shows values of the Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) for a few common foods. GI's of 55 or below are considered low, and 70 or above are considered high. GL's of 10 or below are considered low, and 20 or above are considered high.

How the Glycemic Index can encourage overeating:

Using the Glycemic index to define what and how much you eat may be deceptive:

Apples have a GI of 38 (as shown in the table above), and a medium-size apple, weighing 138 grams, contains 16 grams of net carbohydrates and provides a Glycemic Load of 6. This is a low GL, and most would consider the apple to be a very appropriate snack.

But now look at peanuts. A 4-oz serving not only weighs less than the apple, but has a much lower GI (14), and provides an even lower GL of 2.

Based on Glycemic Load alone, you would have to believe that the peanuts were a better dietary choice than the apple. But if you take a look at the Calories contained in these two foods, you'll see that the apple contains approximately 72 Calories, while the peanuts contain more than 500! Those 400+ extra Calories are NOT going to help you lose weight.

Glycemic Index Table