What is it?

GI is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels.

How does it help?

GI helps with diabetes control. Foods with a low GI raise blood glucose levels more slowly than foods with a higher GI.

Foods are compared against a standard food, white bread or glucose, and ranked low, medium or high GI.

Foods with a low GI include most vegetables and fruit, legumes, whole grain bread, pasta and milk.

How food is prepared, what foods are eaten together, and the amount and type of carbohydrate eaten all affect blood glucose.

	Low GI (less than 55) Choose most often	Medium GI (56 - 70) Choose more often	High GI (more than 70) Choose less often
Many starch foods have a high GI. Choose low and medium GI foods more often.
Breads	100% Stoned Ground Whole Wheat Pumpernickel	Whole Wheat Rye Pita	White Bread Kaiser Roll Bagel
Cereal	Ready-to-eat Bran Cereal Oatmeal Oatbran	Partially-Cooked Oats Cream of Wheat	Bran or Corn Flakes Crisp Rice Cereal Oat "O" Cereal
Grains	Parboiled or converted rice Barley & Bulgar Pasta/Noodles	Basmati Rice Brown Rice Couscous	Short-grain Rice Brand Rice
Other	Sweet potato/Yam Legumes (Lentils, Chickpeas, Kidney Beans, Split Peas, Soy Beans, Baked Beans) Skim Milk	New Potato Sweet Corn Popcorn Stoned Wheat Thins Crackers Black Bean Soup Green Pea Soup Digestive Biscuits	Baked Potato French Fries Pretzels Rice Cakes Soda Crackers

Adapted From: www.diabetes.ca