As a diabetic, knowing a food’s glycemic index (GI) lets

you make more informed decisions about what you

eat, and how much of it you eat. This is because a
food’s GI value gives you an idea of how quickly it can
raise blood glucose levels.

Foods with a high GI can cause your blood sugar level

to spike rapidly. This is a problem, because over time
high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels
and nerves, leading to serious complications (such as
heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and
neuropathy).

Foods with a low GI are broken down more slowly, so

your blood sugar level increases more gradually. This
gives you more time to address it, and take medication
(e.g. insulin) to lower it again if needed. And by
managing your blood sugar level better, avoiding
spikes and high blood sugar levels, you reduce your
risk of complications.

Glycemic index chart for Indian foods

Here are some common Indian foods which have a
high GI value (70 or over):

Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Amaranth 97

Appam 73

Bread (White) 100

Breadfruit 65

Chikku 73

Cornflakes 93
Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Donuts 76

Dosa 56-78

Green tea 79

Idli 60-70

Jaggery (Gur) 84

Naan 71

Pongal 87-93

Potato (Baked) 87

Potato (Boiled) 78

Potato (Mashed) 92

Potato (French fries) 75

Puffed rice 90

Pumpkin 75

Rice milk 86

Shredded wheat 70

Sorghum (Jowar) 70

Tapioca 70

Watermelon 76

White rice 79

Whole wheat bread 74

‍

Here are some common Indian foods which have a

medium GI value (between 56 and 69):

Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Banana (Overripe) 57

Brown rice 55

Burfi 38-45

Chapatti (Bajra) 67

Chapatti (Corn) 64

Chapatti (Wheat) 66

Coca-cola 63

Couscous 65

Cranberry juice 68

Finger millet (Ragi) 54-68

Honey 58

Instant oats 66

Jackfruit 50-60

Papaya 60

Poha 38-64

Puri (Wholewheat) 57

Raisins 64

Rice cakes 82
 Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Sabudana 67

Semolina (Rawa) 66

Sugar (Brown) 64

Sugar (White) 65

Upma 68

Whole wheat roti 62

Here are some common Indian foods which have a

low GI value (between 40 and 55):

Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Apple juice (Unsweetened) 44

Banana chips 44

Banana (Ripe) 47-53

Basmati rice 55

Black gram (Urad dal) 43

Black rice 42

Black-eyed peas (Chawli/Raungi) 42

Blueberries 53

Buckwheat (Kuttu) 45-51

Buckwheat flour (Kuttu ka atta) 49

Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Carrots (Boiled) 32-49

Cheela (Bengal) 42

Coconut 42

Coconut water 54

Corn 52

Custard apple 55

Custard (Plain) 52

Dates 44-53

Elephant foot yam (Suran) 51

Grapes 53

Grapefruit 53

Kiwi 50

Mango 51-55

Multigrain bread 41

Oats 55

Orange 43

Orange juice (Unsweetened) 50

Peach 42

Pearl millet (Bajra) 54

Pomegranate 53
 Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Quinoa 53

Strawberries 40

Sweet lime 40-50

Sweet potato (Shakarkandi) 54

Whole wheat pasta 40

Yam 54

Here are some common Indian foods which have a

very low GI value (between 25 and 39):

Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Apple 36

Barley flour (Jau ka sattu) 25

Barnyard millet (Khichdi) 35

Black chickpeas (Kala channa) 28

Buttermilk 35

Chapatti (Barley) 37

Chapatti (Besan) 27

Cumin seeds (Jeera) 36

Dhokla 35

Dried apricots 32
 Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Flaxseed 35

Green beans 32

Ice cream (Vanilla) 27-37

Laddu 24-29

Milk 34-38

Mung beans (Moong dal) 38

Paneer 27

Pears 38

Plum 39

Prunes 29

Pumpkin seeds 25

Red lentils (Whole masoor) 32-37

Sago 27

Sesame seeds 35

Soy milk 30

Split pigeon peas (Arhar dal) 29

Sunflower seeds 35

Tomato juice 38

Here are some common Indian foods which have an

extremely low GI value (less than 25):
Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Almonds 0

Bitter gourd (Karela) 18

Black tea 0

Bottle gourd (Doodhi/Lauki) 15

Broccoli 15

Butter 0

Cabbage 10-15

Capsicum 15

Carrots (Raw) 16

Cashew nuts (Kaju) 22

Cauliflower 10

Cheese 0-10

Cherries 20

Chia seeds 4

Chickpeas (Channa) 6

Coffee (Black) 0

Cucumber (Vellarikka) 15

Eggplant (Baingan/Brinjal) 15

Fenugreek 0

Gooseberry 15
 Food Glycemic index (GI) value

Gram flour (Besan) 10

Green peas 22

Guava 12-24

Kidney beans (Rajma) 24

Lemon 20

Okra 20

Onion 10

Peanuts 13

Pineapple 19

Pistachio 15

Raita 15

Red gram dal (Tur dal) 18

Roasted gram flour (Sattu) 28

Soya beans 15-20

Spinach (Palak) 15

Tamarind 23

Walnuts 15

Yoghurt (Plain) 14

Zucchini 10-15