Appendix 1: Partial glycemic index
The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how much a given carbohydrate food will affect
blood glucose and insulin. Its primary use for ketogenic dieters is to pick carbohydrate sources
while on a low-carbohydrate diet (where low GI carbs should be consumed) and also to make carb
choices during the carb-up or around exercise (where high GI carbs are traditionally used). The
following list uses white bread as a reference (given a value of 100) but some lists use glucose as
the reference. To convert from the white bread GI to the glucose GI, divide by 0.7. To convert
from the glucose GI to the white bread GI, multiply by 1.42. For ease of reference, foods are
grouped by their GI, rather than by category. Therefore if individuals are looking for relatively
higher or lower GI foods, it should be easier to make food choices.
Glucose 138 Bananas 76
Instant rice 128 Orange juice 74
Baked potatoes 121 Lactose 65
Corn Flakes 119 Mixed grain bread 64
Instant potatoes 118 Grapes 62
Rice Crispies 117 Oranges 62
Rice cakes 117 All Bran cereal 60
Jelly beans 114 Spaghetti 59
Honey 104 Apple juice 58
Carrots 101 Apples 52
White bread 100 Chickpeas 47
Cream of wheat 94 Skim milk 46
Sucrose 92 Lentils 41
Ice cream 87 Full fat milk 39
White rice 81 Grapefruit 36
Brown rice 79 Fructose 32
Popcorn 79 Peas 32
Peanuts 21Source: Foster-Powell K and Miller JB. International tables of glycemic index. Am J Clin Nutr
(1995) 62: 871S-893S.