Glycemic Load Calculator
Helps you determine how much your blood sugar levels will raise after eating a specific food based on its glycemic index and carbohydrate amount.
Refer to the text below the tool for more information about calculating glycemic load and its classification.
The glycemic load of food products is an indicator based on the glycemic index and carbohydrate amount which provides guidance on how much blood sugar levels are expected to rise following ingestion of a particular food item.
This tool may be particularly useful to diabetes suffering patients who need to finely control their blood sugar levels.
Glycemic Load = Glycemic index x Carbohydrate content in g / 100
| Glycemic Load | Classification |
| ≤10 | Low |
| 11 - 19 | Medium |
| ≥20 | High |
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Steps on how to print your input & results:
1. Fill in the calculator/tool with your values and/or your answer choices and press Calculate.
2. Then you can click on the Print button to open a PDF in a separate window with the inputs and results. You can further save the PDF or print it.
Please note that once you have closed the PDF you need to click on the Calculate button before you try opening it again, otherwise the input and/or results may not appear in the pdf.
Glycemic Load Formula
When trying to finely control blood sugar levels, determining glycemic load of particular food items may be more reliable than the glycemic index alone because along with the latter, it also accounts for the carbohydrate content of that portion of food.
Glycemic Load = Glycemic index x Carbohydrate content in g / 100
Similarly to the glycemic index, the load values may be classified into low, medium and high:
| Glycemic Load | Classification |
| ≤10 | Low |
| 11 - 19 | Medium |
| ≥20 | High |
GL estimates the impact of carbohydrate intake and is a term first coined by Harvard researchers. Liu et al. were the first to demonstrate that the GL of a specific food has a direct physiological effect and may be more adequate than just carbohydrate counting for monitoring the glycemic effect of foods.
You may wish to use the Glycemic Index Calculator to retrieve the GI values for the foods you wish to determine the glycemic load for.
Please note that the glycemic index classification is not always equivalent to the glycemic load classification too because, for example:
- Foods with low GIs but many carbohydrates in their portion size can end up having a high glycemic load (see pasta);
- Foods with high GIs but little carbohydrates in their portion can have low glycemic loads (some low carb fruits);
References
Liu S, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Franz M, Sampson L, Hennekens CH, Manson JE. A prospective study of dietary glycemic load, carbohydrate intake, and risk of coronary heart disease in US women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000; 71(6):1455-61.
Atkinson FS, Foster-Powell K, Brand-Miller JC International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: Diabetes Care 31. 2008.
Glycemic Research Institute. (2006-2010) Glycemic Index Defined.
Specialty: Nutrition
System: Endocrine
Article By: Denise Nedea
Published On: October 23, 2020 · 12:00 AM
Last Checked: October 23, 2020
Next Review: October 23, 2025