Glycaemic Index (GI) Search Tool
Optimise your blood glucose and glycaemic index knowledge with the REAL Glycaemic Index Search Tool
Glycaemic Index (GI) Search Tool
R.E.A.L Health and Nutrition — GI & Glycaemic Load (GL) Food Database
Search the glycaemic index and glycaemic load of 3,251 foods
Search any of the 3,251 foods below to instantly see its Glycaemic Index (GI), Glycaemic Load (GL), how processed it is, and its clinical or athletic application — sourced directly from the University of Sydney's 2021 International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load. Everything runs locally in your browser, so results are instant and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
GI food database
Look up the glycaemic index of 3,251 foods, filter by food type or processing level, and compare very low, low, medium and high GI options.Glycaemic load meal builder
Add foods at the gram weight you actually eat and the GL calculator totals the glycaemic load of the whole meal.Blood glucose response simulator
See an estimated blood sugar curve in mmol/L over three hours for the meal you build, calibrated against a standard 75 g glucose tolerance test.
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Off by default. GL reflects a standardized test portion of the food (not necessarily how much you'd actually eat), so a single GL number can be easy to misread in isolation — use GI as the primary signal and treat GL as portion-size context, not a stand-alone score.
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Understanding Glycaemic Index & Glycaemic load
What is Glycaemic Index (GI)
Glycaemic index ranks how quickly the carbohydrate in a food raises blood glucose, on a scale where pure glucose is 100.
It is measured against a fixed dose of available carbohydrate, so it describes the quality of the carbohydrate, not how much of it you eat.
It is typically split into low, medium and high categories (although we’ve added another as very low).
What is Glycaemic Load (GL)
:Glycaemic load closes the gap of “how much” you eat and it’s estimated impact on blood glucose.
It multiplies a food’s GI by the grams of available carbohydrate in the portion in front of you, then divides by 100.
A GL of:- 10 or less is low
- 11 to 19 is medium
- and 20 or more is high.
Glycaemic index vs glycaemic load: which one matters?
The difference is not academic. In this database, cooked quinoa has a GI of 53, comfortably low, but a serve holding 45 g of available carbohydrate carries a glycaemic load of 24, which is high.
A single 29 g slice of white bread has a higher GI at 62, yet a glycaemic load of just 9, because there is far less carbohydrate in the slice.
Doongara white rice does the same thing: GI 48, low by any standard, and a glycaemic load of 22 at a normal serve. So use GI to choose between foods of the same kind, which bread, which rice, which breakfast cereal.
Use GL to judge the meal you are actually about to eat. The meal builder above does the second job for you: add each food at its real gram weight and it totals the glycaemic load of the plate.
What is Blood Glucose?
Blood glucose (commonly known as blood sugar), is the primary sugar found in your bloodstream. It comes directly from the carbohydrates in the food you eat and serves as the main source of energy for your brain, muscles, and organs. However, not all carbohydrates affect your blood sugar in the same way.
This is where the Glycaemic Index (GI) and Glycaemic Load (GL) become essential: The Glycaemic Index (GI) measures how quickly a carbohydrate breaks down into glucose.
High-GI foods cause a rapid spike in blood sugar, while Low-GI foods provide a slow, sustained release of energy. The Glycaemic Load (GL) factors in the actual portion size you consume, giving you a more accurate picture of how a specific meal will impact your total blood sugar levels.
How & why to use this GI search tool
Understanding your blood sugar response is critical for both metabolic health and athletic performance. We designed this database to help you take control of these responses:
Simulate Your Blood Glucose Curve: Using our GL Meal Builder, you can add foods at the exact gram weight you eat. The tool features a Blood Glucose Response Simulator that estimates your actual blood sugar curve in mmol/L over three hours, calibrated against a standard 75g glucose tolerance test.
Filter for Your Clinical or Athletic Goals: Spiking your blood sugar isn’t always a bad thing—it depends on your goal. You can use our filters to find Low-GI foods for sustained energy (ideal for managing Diabetes, PCOS, or Insulin Resistance), or instantly locate High-GI, fast-fuel carbs for rapid glycogen replenishment during or after a heavy workout.
What counts as a low GI food?
By international convention a food is low GI at 55 or below, medium from 56 to 69, and high at 70 or above. We at REAL disagree that the wide range of 0-55 is only classed at “low GI” and thus, this tool keeps those thresholds and splits the low band in two (Very Low GI and Low GI). There is a real difference between a food that tests at 54 and one that tests at 25, especially for someone who is Diabetic or has insulin management concerns.
| Category | GI range | Foods here | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very low | 0–40 | 969 | Canned chickpeas (GI 35), pot barley (GI 35) |
| Low | 41–55 | 977 | Brown lentils (GI 42), cooked quinoa (GI 53) |
| Medium | 56–69 | 685 | White bread (GI 62), Thai jasmine rice (GI 68) |
| High | 70+ | 620 | Baked potatoes (GI 78), cornflakes (GI 105) |
Low GI is not a synonym for healthy. Dark chocolate tests at 44 and premium ice cream at 38, because fat and fructose slow the glucose response without making either a better everyday choice. That is why every entry in this tool is also tagged whole, processed or ultra-processed, 571 foods here are whole, 1,185 processed and 1,495 ultra-processed. Read the two labels together.
Want to learn even more?
Learn more about optimal Diabetes management
We commonly see and treat T1, T2 and gestational Diabetes. Click the link above to learn about optimal management and how you can improve your health
Learn more about common foods and their glycaemic index
Australia has a wide range of common foods from multiple different cultures. The page via the link above goes through those and explains the expected blood glucose curve of these foods.
Author
Produced by Matthew Rigoni (APD, ASD)
Matthew is a qualified Dietitian with the priority of providing fellow Australians with the power of nutrition science to better their health and performance
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Nutrition and a Master’s in Dietetics and is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) with Dietitians Australia. Armed with additional training as a Sports Dietitian (ASD, his qualifications ensure you receive the latest, cutting-edge, evidence-based knowledge to apply to blood sugar and sport performance goals
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International Organization for Standardization. (2010). Food products — Determination of the glycaemic index (GI) and recommendation for food classification (ISO 26642:2010). https://www.iso.org/standard/43633.html
Jenkins, D. J. A., Wolever, T. M. S., Taylor, R. H., Barker, H., Fielden, H., Baldwin, J. M., Bowling, A. C., Newman, H. C., Jenkins, A. L., & Goff, D. V. (1981). Glycemic index of foods: A physiological basis for carbohydrate exchange. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34(3), 362–366. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/34.3.362
Monteiro, C. A., Cannon, G., Levy, R. B., Moubarac, J.-C., Louzada, M. L. C., Rauber, F., Khandpur, N., Cediel, G., Neri, D., Martinez-Steele, E., Baraldi, L. G., & Jaime, P. C. (2019). Ultra-processed foods: What they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition, 22(5), 936–941. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018003762
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Teede, H. J., Tay, C. T., Laven, J. J. E., Dokras, A., Moran, L. J., Piltonen, T. T., Costello, M. F., Boivin, J., Redman, L. M., Boyle, J. A., Norman, R. J., Mousa, A., & Joham, A. E. (2023). Recommendations from the 2023 international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 108(10), 2447–2469. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgad463
World Health Organization & International Diabetes Federation. (2006). Definition and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and intermediate hyperglycaemia: Report of a WHO/IDF consultation. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43588
Reviewed 03/09/2026
