Glycemic_load Glycemic_load

Glycemic load - Definition and Overview

The glycemic load (GL) is a ranking system for carbohydrate content in foods based on their Glycemic Index.

Glycemic load can be calculated as the percentage of carbohydrate content (by weight) multiplied by its GI. For example Watermelon with a GI of 72, and a carbohydrate content of 5% (it contains a lot of water) makes the calculation 0.05*72=3.6, the GL is 3.6. So a food with a GI of 100 and a carbohydrate content of 10% of the foods weight will get a GL of 10 (0.1*100=10), while a food with a GI of just 10 but which is 100% carbohydrate will also get a GL of 10 (1*10=10).

Data on GI and GL comes from the University of Sydney (Human Nutrition Unit) GI database at [1] (http://ziag4.mmb.usyd.edu.au/) through [2] (http://www.glycemicindex.com/).

List of foods and their glycemic load

Food GI Carbohydrate Content (By Weight) GL
Baguette, white, plain (France) ~95 ~50% ~48
Watermelon ~72 ~5% ~3.6
White Rice (Japanese) ~56 ~15% ~8.4

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