If you are working toward controlling your blood glucose, the glycemic index is a helpful tool. It can help you make healthy choices about the food you eat and the beverages you drink. Most juices have a moderate glycemic index, which is associated with a moderate sustained rise in blood sugar.
Significance
The glycemic index is a way to determine how a food will affect your blood glucose. The scale ranges from 0 to 100 and food is ranked based on how it compares to pure glucose. The higher the glycemic index, the larger and faster the rise in glucose. If the food is considered low or moderate, it results in a smaller, slower rise in glucose.
The Glycemic Index of Juice
There are three categories of food on the glycemic index: low, moderate and high. A low glycemic rating is from 0 to 55, moderate is from 56 to 69 and high is from 70 to 100. Most juices fall in the moderate range. Apple juice has a glycemic index of 40. The glycemic index of orange juice is 50; tomato juice is 48 and grapefruit juice is 48. The highest ranked juice is cranberry juice cocktail with a glycemic index of 68.
Juice versus Fruit
Since the glycemic index is not reflective of just the carbohydrate content of a food, certain factors, including how the food is prepared, can alter the food's glycemic index rating. For example, the way a food is processed can affect its glycemic rating. Juice generally has a higher glycemic index than fruit because it is highly processed.
Considerations
There are certain things you should consider when using the glycemic index to select your foods. Though the glycemic index reflects how a food will affect your blood sugar, you also need to control the portion size. Food combining can also affect how your blood sugar responds to a meal. For example, if you eat a food that has a high glycemic index with a food that has a low glycemic index, the impact on your blood sugar may be evened out.
