Couscous and insulin

Q: What is the insulin index of couscous?

About 100 relative to white bread = 100 — high. This figure is estimated, not measured — published insulin data covers roughly 38 foods and this is not one of them.

Couscous has an insulin index of about 100 relative to white bread = 100 — high — and a glycemic index of about 65 relative to glucose = 100.

Insulin index

100

relative to white bread = 100

High

Estimated, not measured. No published insulin index figure exists for this food, so this is extrapolated from foods of the same type. Treat it as a direction, not a reading.

Glycemic index

relative to glucose = 100

Moderate

Published measurement. Atkinson FS, Foster-Powell K, Brand-Miller JC. International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values: 2008. Diabetes Care 2008;31:2281-3 -- listed as "Couscous"

Its insulin response outruns its glycemic one.

Couscous asks for more insulin than its glycemic index alone would predict. Dairy is the best-known example: the lactose and the protein together raise insulin well above what the blood-glucose curve suggests. The two axes are independent, and this is what that looks like.

An index is not a dose

Both numbers describe the food itself, measured against a reference — they do not grow with your portion. The quantity that adds up across a meal is the load: insulin load scales with the energy in what you ate, glycemic load with its available carbohydrate. That is why a steak with no carbohydrate still carries a real insulin load and a glycemic load of zero.

See it on a real plate

The scanner reads a meal and works out the load from the portion in front of you, not the index.

Open the scanner →

Also on this food: its oxalate content, from the same database.

Frequently asked

What is the insulin index of couscous?›

About 100 relative to white bread = 100 — high. This figure is estimated, not measured — published insulin data covers roughly 38 foods and this is not one of them.

Does couscous raise blood sugar?›

Its glycemic index is about 65 relative to glucose = 100 — moderate. Glycemic index describes the food, not your portion.

Is the insulin index the same as the glycemic index?›

No, and treating them as interchangeable is the most common mistake. Glycemic index tracks blood glucose; the insulin index tracks the insulin actually released. Protein raises insulin while barely moving glucose, so meat, fish and whey score near zero on one axis and well above it on the other.

How does a serving change these numbers?›

It does not. An index is a property of the food, like a percentage — it does not double when you eat twice as much. What scales with your portion is the load, and the scanner works that out from what is actually on the plate (a 1 cup cooked here).

Insulin and glycemic figures are reference values for whole foods, most of them estimated and every one labelled. They are not medical advice, not a prediction of your own response, and independent of the carb alarm. Individual responses vary with the rest of the meal, preparation and the person.

Save recipes, scan meals, and track your keto score in the app.

Open KetovoreApp →