Is tofu low glycemic

A good guide to good carbs: The glycemic index

If you have diabetes, you know all too well that when you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar goes up. The total amount of carbs you consume at a meal or in a snack mostly determines what your blood sugar will do. But the food itself also plays a role. A serving of white rice has almost the same effect as eating pure table sugar a quick, high spike in blood sugar. A serving of lentils has a slower, smaller effect.

Picking good sources of carbs can help you control your blood sugar and your weight. Eating healthier carbohydrates may help prevent a host of chronic conditions, especially diabetes, but it is also associated with a lower risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

One way to choose foods is with the glycemic index (GI). This tool measures how much a food boosts blood sugar.

The glycemic index rates the effect of a specific amount of a food on blood sugar compared with the same amount of pure glucose. A food with a glycemic index of 28 boosts blood sugar only 28% as much as pure glucose. One with a GI of 95 acts like pure glucose.

Glycemic index chart

Choose low glycemic foods

Using the glycemic index is easy: choose foods in the low GI category instead of those in the high GI category (see below), and go easy on those in between.

• Low glycemic index (GI of 55 or less): Most fruits and vegetables, beans, minimally processed grains, pasta, low-fat dairy foods, and nuts.
• Moderate glycemic index (GI 56 to 69): White and sweet potatoes, corn, white rice, couscous, breakfast cereals such as Cream of Wheat and Mini Wheats.
• High glycemic index (GI of 70 or higher): White bread, rice cakes, most crackers, bagels, cakes, doughnuts, croissants, most packaged breakfast cereals.

To learn more about keeping your meals healthy and on track with Diabetes, read Healthy Eating for Type 2 Diabetes,a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

Image: seramo/Getty Images

As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.

No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

Tofu - Carbs, Glycemic Index, Fats, Minerals, Vitamins & much more

Tofu: nutrition facts & data

^[1] average of Legumes

Breakdown in percent (%) of total calories

An average portion size (100g) of Tofu contains:

• 84.0 Calories
• 5.0g of Fat
• 8.0g of Protein
• and 2.0g of Carbs
• 4.0mg of sodium - 0.0% of the RDA for sodium.
• 100.0mg of Magnesium, that covers 0.3% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for Magnesium.
• 0.9mg of Zinc - 0.1% of the RDA for Zinc.
• 3.7mg of Iron - 0.3% of the RDA for Iron.
• 95.0mg of Potassium - 0.0% of the RDA for Potassium.
• 0.0mg of Vitamin C - 0.0% of the RDA for Vitamin C.
• No Vitamin B12

For every gram of carbs in Tofu you get

• 4.00 grams of protein compared to the average of 0.46g per gram of carbs among all foods. Other foods in Legumes have on average 0.73g of proteins per 1 gram of carbs.
• 2.50 grams of fat (total average 0.66g, other foods in Legumes 0.20g)
• 0.15 grams of fibers (total average 0.13g, other foods in Legumes 0.48g)

Nutrient distribution per gram

What vitamins are in Tofu?

^[1] average of Legumes

Is Tofu rich in vitamins?

The following chart displays the amount of vitamins per portion Size (100g) for Tofu of the recommended daily allowance (RDA^[1]) for each vitamin in percent.

^[1]Avg. RDA for a 19-30 year old adultLearn more about RDA values for vitamins by clicking on the names in the table above.

Minerals in Tofu

^[1] average of Legumes

Is Tofu high in minerals?

Again, for every mineral contained in Tofu we looked at the portion size (100g) and applied it to the recommended daily allowance (RDA^[1]). Data is shown in percent of RDA per portion size.

^[1]RDA for a 19-30 year old adultLearn more about RDA values for minerals by clicking on the names in the table above.

Carbohydrates in Tofu

2.0% of Tofu are carbs, per serving of 100g that makes 2.0g of carbs.

Monosachharides and polysaccharides

^[1] average of Legumes

How high are the Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Load for Tofu?

The Glycemic Index of Tofu is 15, which would be considered as low. The Glycemic Load in a normal serving is 0.3 and can be regarded as low.

Allergens in Tofu

• is Gluten free
• has no Lactose
• low amounts of Fructose

Fatty acids and cholesterol in Tofu

Of the 5.0g total fat per 100g in Tofu, 0.8g are saturated fatty acids (SFA), 2.5g are monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and 1.0g are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The amount of cholesterol is 0.0mg.

Alternative and similar foods to Tofu

The Glycemic Index (GI) chart shows how much and how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food raises your blood-sugar levels. The lower a food is on the GI, the lower the effect on your blood sugar.

The standardized Glycemic Index ranges from 0 to 100. Zero-glycemic foodsthose without carbohydratesinclude items like meats, fish, and oils. Pure sugar has a glycemic index of 100. Low-glycemic foods have a glycemic load of 55 or lower and include most fruits and vegetables, beans, dairy, and some grains. Foods such as bananas, raisins, and sweet potatoes are considered to be medium-glycemic foods and are ranked between 56 and 69. High-glycemic foods are ranked at 70 and above and include table sugar, ice cream, and other heavily processed foods that are high in calories and fat.

Glycemic Index Charts: Low, Medium, and High

The glycemic index charts below lists common foods followed by their serving size and glycemic index number, according to the GI Database compiled by the University of Sydney and cited by the USDA. They are grouped according to range and food type.

GLYCEMIC LOAD: A BETTER WAY TO TO MEASURE CARB CONSUMPTION

As weve already discussed, the glycemic index (GI) is a numerical system that measures how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggersthe higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response.

The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively newer and better way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption on your blood sugar. The glycemic load gives a fuller picture than does glycemic index alone; it takes into account how much carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both GI and GL to understand a foods effect on blood sugar.

Take watermelon as an example. If you use the glycemic index to try and decide whats best to eat, you might avoid watermelon because it has a high glycemic index of 80. (A glycemic index of 70 or more is high, 55 or less is low.) But there arent a lot of carbohydrates in a serving of watermelon (its mostly water), so the glycemic load is relatively low, at 5. (A glycemic load of 20 or more is high, 10 or less is low.)

Another example is beans. Lentils or pinto beans have a glycemic load that is approximately three times lower than instant mashed potatoes, for example, and therefore will not cause large spikes in blood-sugar levels.

Stabilizing your blood sugar is accomplished by lowering the overall glycemic load of your diet. Actually studying the glycemic loads of various foods is an interesting exercise, but it isnt necessary as long as you eat regularly, choose the right carbs, and avoid white flour and sugars.

FYI

Fran C. Grossman, RD, MS, CDE, CDN, Nutrition at the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, answers a common question about low glycemic index foods.

Q : A friend has managed to control her diabetes by following a GI diet. Can you shed light on what she means, since I dont think she is referring to the Meals Ready to Eat used by the military!

A: Your friend is definitely not referring to MREs! It sounds as if the diet shes following is based on whats called the Glycemic Index, or GI, which is a measure of a foods ability to raise blood sugar levels compared with a reference food (either glucose or white bread). High GI foodswhich are assigned a value of 70 and abovecause blood sugar to spike, which may contribute to poor eating behaviors. Low GI foods (with a value below 55) cause blood sugar to rise more slowly, which helps regulate the appetite.

Studies suggest that following the GI diet may help diabetics better manage their blood sugar, and there also is evidence the diet may help people maintain a healthy weight. This is likely because the diet prioritizes unrefined grains, which are low in calories, and fiber-richbecause fiber takes longer to digest, the GI diet may help you feel fuller for longer, meaning youll be less likely to snack between meals. However, the diet can be tricky to manage, since a foods GI can change depending on how it is cooked or processed, and if it is eaten with other foods.Ed. note: You can find out more about the GI at this National Institutes of Health page and at this Science Daily page.

Originally published in 2016, this post is regularly updated.