Glycemic Load Calculator

Calculate the glycemic load of a certain food or meal based on the carbs, with this tool.

Required Information

Glycemic Load:

What it is

What is Glycemic Load?

Create Date: September 28, 2024

Last Modified Date: December 4, 2024

Glycemic load is a number about how much a person's blood glucose level may rise after eating. It takes into account both the quality and the quantity of carbohydrates in a portion of food. It is a helpful concept for understanding the real impact of carbohydrate-rich foods on blood sugar

How do you Calculate Glycemic Load?

If you want to calculate the glycemic load of food you need the following variables:

  • Glycemic index of the food

  • Carbs in the portion
Then you can use the following formula to find the approximate glycemic load of that food:
An image of the formula used to calculate the glycemic load of a food.
Where:
  • GL = Glycemic load

  • GI = Glycemic index

  • C = Carbs

Understanding Your Results

Your result will be a single number. This number represents the glycemic load, or the total amount a person's blood sugar may go up by after consuming the food. Due to there being levels of blood sugar that you should not reach, there are some foods with glycemic loads that are too high for certain people.

How to Use the Glycemic Load Tool

Calculating the glycemic load of food is an important metric for certain people. We made this tool simple and easy to use so everyone can use it with no problem. The steps involved with using this tool include:

  1. Enter the glycemic index of the food in question.

  2. Enter the amount of carbs in the portion in question.

  3. Hit the calculate button and instantly get the approximate glycemic load of that food!

Calculation Example

Let's say an old man who has diabetes wants to measure out the glycemic load of a slice of watermelon that he wants to have to understand how it may affect him. He can use this tool to get that information. He will have to find out the glycemic index of the watermelon, which is about 80. Then discover the amount of carbs in his portion which is about 6 grams.

To use this tool he will enter 80 into the glycemic index field and then 6 into the carbs field. He can then hit calculate and get a glycemic load of about 4.8.

Glycemic Load - Frequently Asked Questions

Some foods with low glycemic load include green vegetables, certain fruits, raw carrots, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, and more.

A glycemic load of 20 or more is considered to be high.

It should be no surprise, but cakes, cookies, candies, and some breads are among the foods with the highest glycemic load typically.

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