It’s proven with evidence that consuming refined grain flours on an everyday basis has a lot of health consequences. With this rise in awareness, there are a lot of different kinds of flours available in the market. In this article, we will look at a few of them and would rate them on the basis of their net carbs and glycemic index.
The context of this article is the two basic principles of choosing food.
Glycemic index: It determines how quickly the food converts to glucose in the body and in turn give an insulin spike. The higher the glycemic index the higher is the spike in insulin on having a certain kind of food.
Net carbs: The key difference between total carbs and net carbs is that total carbs include all the different types of carb in a food or meal. These include starches, dietary fiber, and sugars. Net carbs, on the other hand, only include carbs that the body can fully digest into glucose.
Let’s look at these two parameters for different kinds of flours of serving size 1 ounce(28 gm), listed in the order of total net carbs from lower to higher:
1. Walnut flour:
- Total carbs: 4 gm
- Net carbs: 2 gm
- Fat: 18 gm
- Protein: 4 gm
- Glycemic index: 1
- Glycemic load: 0
2. Almond flour:
- Total carbs: 5.6 gm
- Net carbs: 2.6 gm
- Fat: 14.2 gm
- Protein: 6.1 gm
- Glycemic index: 1
- Glycemic load: 0
3. Flaxseed flour:
- Total carbs: 9 gm
- Net carbs: 0.6 gm
- Fat: 12.9 gm
- Protein: 5.7 gm
- Glycemic index: 1
- Glycemic load: 0
4. Soy flour (Non-GMO):
- Total carbs: 10.8 gm
- Net carbs: 6 gm
- Fat: 1 gm
- Protein: 13.2 gm
- Glycemic index: 25
- Glycemic load: 2.5
5. Chickpea flour:
- Total carbs: 18 gm
- Net carbs: 13 gm
- Fat: 2 gm
- Protein: 6 gm
- Glycemic index: 44
- Glycemic load: 7.9
6. Oat flour:
- Total carbs: 20 gm
- Net carbs: 18 gm
- Fat: 2 gm
- Protein: 5 gm
- Glycemic index: 44
- Glycemic load: 8.8
7. Coconut flour:
- Total carbs: 18 gm
- Net carbs: 8 gm
- Fat: 4 gm
- Protein: 6 gm
- Glycemic index: 50
- Glycemic load: 5.2
8. Rye flour:
- Total carbs: 19.2 gm
- Net carbs: 13 gm
- Fat: 0.8 gm
- Protein: 3.9 gm
- Glycemic index: 64
- Glycemic load: 11.6
9. Buckwheat(Kuttu) flour:
- Total carbs: 19.8 gm
- Net carbs: 17 gm
- Fat: 0.9 gm
- Protein: 3.5 gm
- Glycemic index: 71
- Glycemic load: 14
10. Corn flour:
- Total carbs: 21.5 gm
- Net carbs: 19.5 gm
- Fat: 1.1 gm
- Protein: 1.9 gm
- Glycemic index: 70
- Glycemic load: 15
11. Millet(Baajra) flour:
- Total carbs: 22 gm
- Net carbs: 21 gm
- Fat: 1.2 gm
- Protein: 3 gm
- Glycemic index: 66
- Glycemic load: 14.5
12. Whole wheat flour:
- Total carbs: 20.3 gm
- Net carbs: 16.9 gm
- Fat: 0.5 gm
- Protein: 3.8 gm
- Glycemic index: 69
- Glycemic load: 14.5
13. Quinoa flour:
- Total carbs: 18 gm
- Net carbs: 17 gm
- Fat: 1.6 gm
- Protein: 3.8 gm
- Glycemic index: 53
- Glycemic load: 9.5
14. Sorghum(Chaara) flour:
- Total carbs: 23 gm
- Net carbs: 17 gm
- Fat: 1 gm
- Protein: 2 gm
- Glycemic index: 66
- Glycemic load: 15
15. Refined wheat flour:
- Total carbs: 21 gm
- Net carbs: 20 gm
- Fat: 0.4 gm
- Protein: 2.7 gm
- Glycemic index: 85
- Glycemic load: 17.8
16. Barley(Jau) flour:
- Total carbs: 21 gm
- Net carbs: 18 gm
- Fat: 0.4 gm
- Protein: 2.9 gm
- Glycemic index: 60
- Glycemic load: 12.6
17. Brown rice flour:
- Total carbs: 21.4 gm
- Net carbs: 20 gm
- Fat: 0.8 gm
- Protein: 2 gm
- Glycemic index: 62
- Glycemic load: 13.2
18. Semolina(Sooji) flour:
- Total carbs: 22 gm
- Net carbs: 21 gm
- Fat: 0.5 gm
- Protein: 2.4 gm
- Glycemic index: 59
- Glycemic load: 13
19. White rice flour:
- Total carbs: 22.4 gm
- Net carbs: 21.5 gm
- Fat: 0.4 gm
- Protein: 1.7 gm
- Glycemic index: 72
- Glycemic load: 16
20. Finger millet(Ragi/Mandwa) flour:
- Total carbs: 22.3 gm
- Net carbs: 21 gm
- Fat: 1.3 gm
- Protein: 3.3 gm
- Glycemic index: 68
- Glycemic load: 15
