The glycemic index is a measure of the impact of a particular carbohydrate-containing food on your blood sugar after eating it.
“A number between 0 and 100 assigned to a food represents the relative increase in blood sugar two hours after consuming that specific food,” explains Vanessa RissettoRD, who runs a private nutrition practice in New York.
Since most fruits are sweet — and they all contain carbs — knowing which fruits are low on the glycemic index is helpful for anyone on a low-carb diet to lose weight.
The American Diabetes Association considers foods with a glycemic index of 55 or less to be “low glycemic index foods.”
Pure glucose (sugar) ranks 100, which serves as a comparison for other foods.
“The glycemic index of foods isn’t always related to sweetness,” says Brocha Soloff, BS, RD, CDN, founder of iHeart Health. “It’s more related to the starch content, although the high-sugar mango and pineapple have a higher glycemic index than strawberries, for example.”
If you’ve ever felt the crash that inevitably comes after eating too much sugar, you’ll appreciate this list of low-glycemic fruits that can satisfy your sweet tooth with less of an impact on your blood sugar.
However, if you find yourself drawn to high GI fruits, simply pair them with a healthy fat, like peanut or almond butter, or eat them for dessert, when your belly is full and won’t react as he would. an empty stomach.
Here’s a list of 10 incredibly healthy fruits that we love, along with their glycemic index and glycemic load.
1. Grapefruit
Glycemic index: 25
Glycemic load: 3
Add grapefruit segments to salads, snack on them in the afternoon or toast them for a sweet evening treat.
2. Peaches
Glycemic index: 28
Glycemic load: 4
You enjoy peaches as they come or grill fresh ones to accompany pork chops or chicken breasts.
3. Oranges
Glycemic index: 33
Glycemic load: 3
Oranges are great for on-the-go snacking – they don’t need to be refrigerated and come in their own protective ‘container’.
Pair it with low-fat cheese or a serving of nuts for extra stamina.
4. Pears
Glycemic index: 33
Glycemic load: 4
Sprinkle ripe pear cubes with ground cinnamon and drizzle with almond butter for an easy snack. Want to intensify their flavor? Bake them first!
5. Apricots
Glycemic index: 34
Glycemic load: 3
Dice apricots and other stone fruits – like plums and pluots – with red onions, cilantro and hot peppers for a sweet and savory salsa.
Apricots tend to have a firmer texture than peaches, even when ripe, so they hold up well to grilling (and on the go).
6. Apples
Glycemic index: 39
Glycemic load: 6
Apples and peanut butter are a heavenly flavor pairing, and the pairing adds fat and protein too! This helpful guide breaks down the most common apple varieties and their best uses.
7. Strawberries
Glycemic index: 40
Glycemic load: 1
Perfectly ripe strawberries are a spring and summer treat. Try them (or any seasonal berry) in a salad or with yogurt.
8. Nectarine
Glycemic index: 43
Glycemic load: 4
Nectarines, like apricots, can be substituted with any peach recipe. Slice one onto Greek yogurt in the morning or mix it into oatmeal or oats overnight.
9. Mangoes
Glycemic index: 51
Glycemic load: 8
Pair mango with avocado and red onion in salads for a tasty twist, or add mango cubes to your morning bowl of yogurt.
10. Blueberries
Glycemic index: 53
Glycemic load: 5
If you just like to put blueberries in your mouth as a snack, pair them with a serving of walnuts or your favorite nut.
Number of carbohydrates versus glycemic load
The number of carbohydrates in a food is different from its glycemic index ranking and its glycemic load.
The glycemic index is a ranking of that food’s carbs (and impact on your blood sugar) using this scale from 0 to 100; its glycemic load is a measure of the food’s glycemic response, based on serving size.
(Glycemic load = glycemic index x grams of carbohydrates consumed / 100)
And although the glycemic index of foods cannot change, you can alter the effect they have on your blood sugar by combining high glycemic index fruits and other foods with fat, fiber and/or protein, says Soloff.
A simple example would be eating a banana (glycemic index: 51) with a spoonful of peanut butter (glycemic index: 14).
“The fat in the peanut butter will slow down the digestion of the banana and its entry into your bloodstream,” she says.
