Black eyed peas glycemic index and load (lobia) explained

The University of Sydney GI database holds ten entries for cowpea, the black eyed pea, and publishes their mean, 37, under plain boiled cowpeas, with the spread wide, from 7 to 58. The entries: two from Canada, recorded in 1981 and 1983, two from Nigeria from 1989, two from the Philippines from 2009, and four from Brazil from 2024. The Philippine pair sits at the bottom: beans soaked, boiled, cooled overnight and microwaved scored 7 and 11. The Brazilian four, cooked for 30 minutes in a pressure cooker, scored 26, 46, 51 and 58. None of the ten was tested in India, so 37 is the published average for the bean, not a number measured on Indian lobia. The bands are set by the University of Sydney: 55 and below is low, 70 and above is high. At 37, the average sits in the low band, though one entry, 58, lies above the 55 line. A wider look agrees: the 2021 international GI tables describe legumes as usually low-GI foods with consistent values around the world.

A GI figure measures the blood sugar response to a food, not the composition of 100 g of it, which is why the number is never given per 100 g. The standard test, as the University of Sydney describes it, gives ten or more healthy people a portion containing 50 g of available carbohydrate, measures their blood glucose over the next two hours, and compares the area under the curve with the same people's response to 50 g of pure glucose, the reference set at 100. For lobia, a 50 g available-carbohydrate test portion means roughly 119 g of the dry bean: 100 g of raw lobia carries 53.77 g of carbohydrate of which 11.70 g is fibre, leaving about 42.07 g of available carbohydrate per 100 g.

Glycemic load ties the GI to the carbohydrate the portion actually carries: load equals GI times the carbohydrate in the portion, divided by 100. For lobia, one katori cooked from 30 g dry holds about 16 g of carbohydrate, so its load comes to about 6. A 50 g serving holds about 26.9 g of carbohydrate, for a load of about 10. The GI tables give band cut-offs for GI itself, not for load, so this page states the loads without stamping them into bands. Each 100 g of the dry bean carries 11.7 g of fibre alongside that carbohydrate.

The composition behind the number, per 100 g of raw lobia from IFCT 2017: 321 kcal, 21.25 g of protein, 1.14 g of fat and 53.77 g of carbohydrate, of which 11.70 g is fibre. That is the dry-bean composition; a cooked katori weighs more with water, while the carbohydrate the load maths counts is the dry weight's. The table below carries the full composition.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). GI: University of Sydney GI database. — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

A GI figure always belongs to a preparation, and 37 belongs to the plain boiled bean, the label the database gives the average. The dietary guidelines note that fibre in the meal slows the absorption of carbohydrate and fat and adds to satiety. The soak-and-cook method, six to eight hours or the quick soak and then cook until soft, is on how to soak lobia.

What does the number buy in the kitchen? A measured katori, cooked from 30 g dry, brings about 16 g of carbohydrate and a load of about 6; a 50 g serving brings about 26.9 g of carbohydrate and a load of about 10. The daily diet in the dietary guidelines sets 85 g of pulses and legumes a day, and one katori from 30 g dry is well under that figure. Cook it as a lobia curry or a one-pot lobia khichdi; both recipes measure the dry lobia for you. If you have diabetes, set the portion with your doctor or dietitian: the portion guide with recipes is on lobia for diabetes, and the lobia hub ties the pages together.

Do black eyed peas have a low glycemic index?

Yes. The published average for plain boiled cowpeas is 37, from ten test entries recorded in several countries, with individual results from 7 to 58. On the University of Sydney scale, 55 and under counts as low, so the average of 37 sits in the low band, although the highest single entry, 58, is above that line.

Do black eyed peas have a high glycemic index?

No. The measured average for plain boiled cowpeas is 37, a low-band score; the high band starts at 70. The ten published entries run from 7 to 58, and none of them reaches the 70 line.

Is lobia good for diabetes?

The bean's average GI is 37, and a katori from 30 g dry brings about 16 g of carbohydrate, for a load of about 6. Whether and how much lobia fits a diabetes plan is for your doctor or dietitian to set; the full guide is on lobia for diabetes.

What is lobia?

Lobia is the Hindi name of the cowpea, the bean sold as black eyed peas; IFCT 2017 lists it as "Cowpea, white". The plain boiled bean behind it averages 37 on the GI scale, and the composition behind it, 21.25 g of protein and 53.77 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, is on lobia nutrition per 100g.

Does lobia have protein?

Yes: 21.25 g of protein per 100 g of raw lobia, and about 6.4 g in one katori, 30 g dry. The composition behind the GI, katori numbers included, is on the lobia nutrition per 100g page.

Can lobia cause gas?

It can, in some people. Galacto-oligosaccharides in the bean are fermented in the colon and produce gas, though that explanation has recently been questioned. With the habit kept up, most people who react find things settle within a few weeks; the amount each person produces varies.