Compiling glycemic index and glycemic load values for addition to a food composition database

The glycemic index (GI) provides an indication of a food's carbohydrate quality by measuring the blood glucose response to consuming the food. The glycemic load (GL) is calculated as the GI times the available carbohydrate in a fixed amount of the food. GI and GL are currently of interest for the study of associations of diet and chronic disease including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity. An international table of GI values is available and provides a compilation of currently available data. The purpose of this project was to use these data, as well as other available references, to expand the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii Food Composition Table (FCT) to include GI and GL values. All of the individual foods in the FCT (n=1592) were assigned GI values as a direct match (n=181), imputation (n=948), calculated value (n=208), or assigned a zero value (n=255). GL per 100 g was then calculated using the assigned GI and available carbohydrate per 100 g of food. The addition of GI and GL values to the FCT will allow researchers to estimate the effect of dietary carbohydrate quality on various health outcomes.