How Do I Calculate Glycemic Index on Foods?

The Glycemic Index, though making great advances all the time, does not have information on all foods out there. For that reason, many people are wondering if there is a way to calculate Glycemic Index numbers on the foods they can’t find online.
The short answer to this question is, no, you can’t calculate Glycemic Index on your own. This is because to assign a Glycemic Index rating to a food, it must be control tested in a laboratory, with blood sugar monitored regularly to see how foods affect blood sugar. The University of Sydney, home of the Glycemic Index, calculates Glycemic Index by giving a measured portion of a food to 10 or more people and measuring their blood sugar. They assign a rating based on how the food compares to the standard, white bread, which has a GI rating of 100.

The best thing you can do is use common sense when deciding to eat a food, and then measure your own body’s response to the food. The Glycemic Index is a helpful guideline, but the best information comes from knowing your own body. We all respond differently to foods, so while one person may be able to get away with a white potato now and again, eating that same food may cause a spike in blood sugar for you.
By testing and recording your results on different foods, you will have no need to calculate the Glycemic Index of foods, because you will have one better than that – your own research.
For foods that are already tested and assigned a calculated Glycemic Index rating, visit http://glycemicindex.com/ to find the GI rating. More foods are added all the time, so keep checking back if your food is not listed, and remember, the best answers will come from your own body.