Table 2.

Effects of processing techniques on the glycemic index of cereal and legume-based products.

Processing Techniques	Effect on Glycemic Index	Explanation	Food Types Affected	Reference
Baking	Increase or decrease in GI depending on formulation and ingredients	Baking can cause starch gelatinization, which affects digestibility and GI. The addition of fiber or legume flour tends to lower GI.	Cereal-based (bread, cakes, cookies), legume-based (baked goods with chickpea, lentil flour)	(Tagliasco, 2024)
Fermentation	Significant reduction in GI	Fermentation can reduce the available carbohydrates by breaking down starch and sugars, leading to a lower GI.	Cereal-based (sourdough bread), legume-based (fermented soy, tempeh)	(Demirkesen-Bicak et al., 2021)
Cooking (Boiling)	Generally, lowers GI, especially in legumes	Boiling increases the digestibility of starches and legumes, leading to a slower release of glucose and a lower GI.	Legume-based (lentils, chickpeas, beans), some cereals (oats, barley)	(H. Meng et al., 2017)
Milling (Refining)	Increase in GI due to removal of fiber and bran	Milling removes the outer layers (bran and germ) of grains, which lowers fiber content and increases GI.	Cereal-based (white bread, pasta)	(Vega-López et al., 2018)
Sprouting	Decrease in GI	Sprouting enhances fiber content and reduces starch digestibility, resulting in a lower GI.	Cereal-based (sprouted wheat, barley), legume-based (sprouted lentils, beans)	(Lemmens et al., 2019)
Drying	Variable effect depending on method (sun-dried vs. industrial drying)	Drying methods impact starch crystallinity and sugar content, with industrial drying leading to higher GI.	Legume-based (dry beans, lentils), some cereals (corn, rice)	(Zhang et al., 2021)