The Insulin Load

Breakfast cereal Insulin load Score (IL) IL / serving
All-bran  32  50g     9
Porridge  40  160g   15
Muesli            46 50g     13
Special K 66 50g     17
Cornflakes    75 50g     22
     
Carbohydrates    
White bread  100 36g (1 slice) 34
Whole meal bread   96 36g (1 slice) 34
Grain bread   56 25g (1 slice) 13
White pasta 40 230g   48
Brown pasta  40 230g   43
White rice      79 180g   70
Brown rice     62 180g   76
French fries  74 116g   93
Potatoes 121 180g   59
     
Proteins    
Eggs   31 2 eggs 23
Cheese 45 40g     30
Beef    51 160g (8oz) 51
Lentils                        58 120g   28
Fish    59 150g   27
Baked beans            120 200g   68
     
Fruit    
Apples 59 140g   20
Oranges 60 120g   12
Bananas 81 100g   29
Grapes 82 100g   21
     
Snacks    
Peanuts 20 50g     26
Popcorn 54 100g   115
Crisps 61 50g     30
Ice cream 89 100g   74
Yoghurt 115 200g   96
Mars bar 122 54g     122
Jelly beans    160 125g   231
Doughnuts    74 75g     86
Croissants     79 60g     78
Cake   82 65g slice 83
Crackers 87 7g each 11
Biscuits 92 8g each 14

What the IL has shown us is that proteins can also cause a release of insulin, despite containing no carbohydrate, and there can be a disproportionate release of insulin from bakery products that are rich in  refined carbohydrates way higher than their GI or GL would predict. Some criticism of the IL is that it looked at the IL per 100g of food, much like the GI ranking system looks at 50g of a food. What I have tried to do is calculate the IL by portion size (the column to the right in the above table). It did not look and any vegetables but due to vegetables being low GL and GI, but you would also expect them to low IL.

You can see that refined carbohydrates, grains and confectionary snacks cause higher releases of insulin than whole grain products, fruits and proteins. This is a great argument for eating less refined carbs and a higher protein diet to control insulin and lose weight.

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