Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load

GI alone misleads — it ignores portion. This table takes the Sydney University GI values and computes each food's glycemic load from its actual per-serving carbs (the same USDA serving data behind every page here). Both numbers, one table, no cheating with either.

Food	GI	Carb per serving	GL per serving
Pretzels (hard)	83	23 g	19 11–19
Potato (baked, skin on)	78	37 g	29 ≥20
Glazed donut	76	29 g	22 ≥20
White bread	75	15 g	11 11–19
French fries	75	48 g	36 ≥20
Whole wheat bread	74	14 g	10 11–19
Cheerios (plain)	74	20 g	15 11–19
White rice (cooked)	73	41 g	30 ≥20
Bagel (plain)	72	51 g	37 ≥20
Brown rice (cooked)	68	50 g	34 ≥20
Croissant (butter)	67	26 g	17 11–19
Cantaloupe	67	13 g	9 ≤10
Pancakes	67	22 g	15 11–19
Couscous (cooked)	65	36 g	24 ≥20
Popcorn (air-popped)	65	19 g	12 11–19
Sweet potato (baked)	63	31 g	20 ≥20
Medjool dates	62	36 g	22 ≥20
Figs (raw)	61	19 g	12 11–19
Honey	61	17 g	11 11–19
Cheese pizza (regular crust)	60	36 g	21 ≥20
Pineapple (raw)	59	23 g	14 11–19
Papaya	59	16 g	9 ≤10
Orange soda	59	2 g	1 ≤10
Potato chips	56	15 g	8 ≤10
Rolled oats (dry)	55	27 g	15 11–19
Plantain (raw)	55	57 g	31 ≥20
Maple syrup	54	13 g	7 ≤10
Yam (raw)	54	42 g	23 ≥20
Quinoa (cooked)	53	39 g	21 ≥20
Buckwheat (cooked)	53	33 g	18 11–19
Grapes (raw)	53	27 g	14 11–19
Sweet corn (cooked)	52	19 g	10 ≤10
Corn tortilla	52	12 g	6 ≤10
Banana	51	27 g	14 11–19
Green peas (cooked)	51	25 g	13 11–19
Mango (raw)	51	25 g	13 11–19
Ice cream (vanilla)	51	16 g	8 ≤10
Strawberry jam	51	14 g	7 ≤10
Kiwi	50	11 g	5 ≤10
Orange juice (fresh)	50	26 g	13 11–19
Pasta (cooked)	49	43 g	21 ≥20
Flour tortilla	49	23 g	11 11–19
Bulgur (cooked)	48	34 g	16 11–19
Whole wheat pasta (cooked)	48	42 g	20 ≥20
Spaghetti with tomato sauce	48	48 g	23 ≥20
Wild rice (cooked)	45	35 g	16 11–19
Milk chocolate	45	26 g	11 11–19
Orange	43	15 g	7 ≤10
Nectarine	43	13 g	6 ≤10
Peach (raw)	42	15 g	6 ≤10
Apple juice	41	28 g	11 11–19
Strawberries (raw)	40	12 g	5 ≤10
Plums (raw)	40	15 g	6 ≤10
Milk (2%)	39	12 g	5 ≤10
Pinto beans (cooked)	39	45 g	17 11–19
Pear (raw)	38	27 g	10 11–19
Apple (with skin)	36	27 g	10 ≤10
Yogurt (plain, whole milk)	36	11 g	4 ≤10
Soy milk (unsweetened)	34	3 g	1 ≤10
Lentils (cooked)	32	40 g	13 11–19
Apricots (raw)	32	12 g	4 ≤10
Black beans (cooked)	30	41 g	12 11–19
Almond milk (unsweetened)	30	2 g	0 ≤10
Chickpeas (cooked)	28	45 g	13 11–19
Barley (cooked)	28	44 g	12 11–19
Grapefruit	25	13 g	3 ≤10
Kidney beans (cooked)	24	40 g	10 ≤10
Dark chocolate (70–85%)	23	9 g	2 ≤10

High GI, low GL — the portion lesson

These foods test high on GI but carry so little carbohydrate per serving that the blood-sugar load stays low. The reverse (modest GI, huge carb serving) is where people get caught — check pasta's row.

Cantaloupe · GI 67, GL 9

Common questions

What is the difference between GI and glycemic load?

GI says how fast a food's carbohydrate raises blood sugar (0–100, glucose = 100). Glycemic load multiplies GI by how much carb is actually in a serving: GL = GI × grams of carb per serving ÷ 100. Water-dense foods can carry a high GI and still land a low GL — that's why both columns are here.

What counts as low GI?

Low ≤ 55, medium 56–69, high ≥ 70. For glycemic load: low ≤ 10, medium 11–19, high ≥ 20 per serving.

Is GI reliable?

Ballpark, not gospel: the same food varies by variety, ripeness, cooking and study. Values here are multi-study means from the Sydney University GI database. For diabetes management, total carbs and medication timing matter more than the second decimal of a GI.

Method

GI values are multi-study means from the University of Sydney's international GI tables (68 foods covered here). Glycemic load is computed on this site: GL = GI × carbs per serving ÷ 100, with carbs and serving grams from the same USDA-synced dataset as every food page. Bands follow the standard cut-points (GI ≤ 55 / 56–69 / ≥ 70; GL ≤ 10 / 11–19 / ≥ 20). Not medical advice for diabetes management — carb totals and your care team's plan outrank any index.

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