Glycemic Index Of Rice Varieties

[MJP]

Anyone have a list of rice varieties and their corresponding glycemic index? I'm struggling to find this via the font of all knowledge that is Google.

Apparently brown (very brown) rice has a glycemic index of around 50, which is fairly low whereas white rice can often be over 100 which can be near life threatening for the likes of me. I've found 'black' rice in Makro, 80 Baht for 2 kilos which is very nice, far more pleasant than any other varieties I've tried. But I need to confirm it has a low glycemic index.

Thanks.

[tutsiwarrior]

some years ago I found an overall glycemic index using google that included entries for a number of varieties of rice...I remember indian basmati being low at 50-60 and thai jasmine rice being off the scale at +100...the black rice is also known as 'wild rice' but I don't remember any info for that variety...

[endure]

http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/ricegi.html

[jfchandler]

Here's a more detailed PDF file listing that includes two pages or so of values for all different kinds of rices... I noted that it has values for both sticky rice and Jasmine white rice that are close to 100..

I like a brown jasmine rice variety I find in 5 KG bags at Tesco, but am not sure where it would fit on the GI scale...

Glycemic Loads of Foods.pdf

The rices section begins on page 18 out of 52 pages.

[jfchandler]

Hmm... maybe I need to change my variety of rice...

I found it difficult to spot a specific GI reference for jasmine brown rice...

But I did find this reference from Thailand...

- Brown fragrance rice, commonly referred to as jasmine brown rice, is excellent in aroma and texture. -

However, glycemic index of this typical rice is high and hence it presents the risk of type 2 diabetes.

http://www.agr.ku.ac.th/0253php/research_book/machine/Donludee%20Jaisut.pdf

Basmati seems to be a good alternative, and well available around Bangkok.

[MJP]

Hmm... maybe I need to change my variety of rice...

I found it difficult to spot a specific GI reference for jasmine brown rice...

But I did find this reference from Thailand...

- Brown fragrance rice, commonly referred to as jasmine brown rice, is excellent in aroma and texture. -

However, glycemic index of this typical rice is high and hence it presents the risk of type 2 diabetes.

http://www.agr.ku.ac...ee%20Jaisut.pdf

Basmati seems to be a good alternative, and well available around Bangkok.

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

You sir need 'Black rice' otherwise known as 'Forbidden rice'. Makro have it at 60 Baht for a 2 kilo bag. But you need to hunt around in the rice isle, there's not that much of it.

Boil it in the rice cooker as normal, try Keekoman soy sauce or Teryaki sauce on it. I do peas and sweetcorn to mix in, healthy stuff.

[jfchandler]

And what info do you have re the GI of so-called black rice?

I don't see anything posted on it above....

[MJP]

And what info do you have re the GI of so-called black rice?

I don't see anything posted on it above....

Here you go.

Is black rice a superfood

I've seen the GI quoted at 50 to 55. Sticky rice is 109 I think, the reason so many up here in Issan suffer Type II diabetes. Some long grains have a fairly lowish GI, but you never really know what you're cooking. I certainly feel much better now I have black rice, steamed vegetables and chicken as a daily diet. It's also fairly cheap, quick and easy to do. Carrot, lot's of broccoli, asparagus (kind of pricey and not that good), peas, sweetcorn.

Keekoman sauce on the black rice.

I make a Teryaki sauce using the bottled stuff, a whole clove of garlic (liquidized), diced onion, parsley, oregano, pepper, a bit of butter and corn oil. Cook the fresh chicken breast in a wok with lid in that lot. Add some corn flour suspended in water to bulk and thicken (still not going right, may have to leave the oil out), about last five minutes.

As soon as I stray from healthy foods I'm in serious serious trouble, can be in bed for days, can't move, can't think, feel utterly dire like the worlds coming to an end.

Edited February 3, 2011 by MJP

[tutsiwarrior]

the black rice is also known as 'wild rice' and the GI is about 85 from an index I saw somewhere...one could probably use it on a daily basis depending on availability, but the thai relatives wouldn't eat it...nor would they eat basmati...anything but jasmine rice (GI 100++) is a disruption...lotsa vomiting motions at the table if any different rice is substituted...

I have said 'I've had enough...I can't eat yer stinkin' jasmine rice and when you find me in a diabetic coma the world shall then know that there shall be no more support for the kids wantin' to go to college...'

oh, boo hoo...

[jfchandler]

Thanks for the info on black rice... 50+ would be good, comparable to U.S. steamed brown rice (not Jasmine brown). But 85 something would be pretty high.... though well under the 100-plus numbers for Jasmine rice.

From the most detailed GI index document that I posted above... about 3 pages of info just relating to dozens of different varieties of rice, basmati rice seems to come out at the top (or I should say bottom) of the GI index ratings...along with what in the U.S. we call "wild rice", which really isn't rice at all...

There were a couple of versions of short grain Japanese rice that were low as well, but a lot of the Japanese rice was quite high, and I found it difficult to figure out which variety would be which if I was shopping.

A couple of side notes...

Tutsi, just yesterday here on TV, I was reading a news report on some private hospitals pulling out of the government's health scheme for the low income (or I guess no income), complaining the govt. wasn't reimbursing them enough. And the guy from the private hospitals association was complaining about higher than expected medical needs about their service group, including largely diabetes care among Thais as they get older... And it made me wonder, I certainly do seem to hear about what seems like a high diabetes rate among Thais... And I thought... why??? Rice??? Too much sugar in too many foods??? Genetic disposition???

Fortunately, I don't have a problem with blood sugars, at least yet... Nor does it run in my family... But since I plan to stay living here...I certainly don't want to make lifestyle/eating choices that are going to cause a problem... Seems Iike I need to get my household rice choice issue nailed down.. I do love khao neaow and Isaan food, but it seems the KN is going to be an occasional treat item from now on.

And as for the Jasmine brown rice I have been eating at home (thinking before it had a low GI similar to U.S. brown rice, only to discover I was quite wrong to assume that), I always wondered why after having a big bowl of it for breakfast in the morning, either with an omelette egg on top or sometimes mixed with muesli cereal and non-fat milk, that's I'd still feel hungry then a couple hours later... I'm now assuming, that's because it has a high GI index, would spike my blood sugar, and then I'd feel hungry later when the sugar level fell back down.

[MJP]

Thanks for the info on black rice... 50+ would be good, comparable to U.S. steamed brown rice (not Jasmine brown). But 85 something would be pretty high.... though well under the 100-plus numbers for Jasmine rice.

From the most detailed GI index document that I posted above... about 3 pages of info just relating to dozens of different varieties of rice, basmati rice seems to come out at the top (or I should say bottom) of the GI index ratings...along with what in the U.S. we call "wild rice", which really isn't rice at all...

There were a couple of versions of short grain Japanese rice that were low as well, but a lot of the Japanese rice was quite high, and I found it difficult to figure out which variety would be which if I was shopping.

A couple of side notes...

Tutsi, just yesterday here on TV, I was reading a news report on some private hospitals pulling out of the government's health scheme for the low income (or I guess no income), complaining the govt. wasn't reimbursing them enough. And the guy from the private hospitals association was complaining about higher than expected medical needs about their service group, including largely diabetes care among Thais as they get older... And it made me wonder, I certainly do seem to hear about what seems like a high diabetes rate among Thais... And I thought... why??? Rice??? Too much sugar in too many foods??? Genetic disposition???

Fortunately, I don't have a problem with blood sugars, at least yet... Nor does it run in my family... But since I plan to stay living here...I certainly don't want to make lifestyle/eating choices that are going to cause a problem... Seems Iike I need to get my household rice choice issue nailed down.. I do love khao neaow and Isaan food, but it seems the KN is going to be an occasional treat item from now on.

And as for the Jasmine brown rice I have been eating at home (thinking before it had a low GI similar to U.S. brown rice, only to discover I was quite wrong to assume that), I always wondered why after having a big bowl of it for breakfast in the morning, either with an omelette egg on top or sometimes mixed with muesli cereal and non-fat milk, that's I'd still feel hungry then a couple hours later... I'm now assuming, that's because it has a high GI index, would spike my blood sugar, and then I'd feel hungry later when the sugar level fell back down.

I was buying the Jasmine brown here until a researcher friend at Imperial College London sent me a stern email telling me to stop and it was likely one of the reasons my blood sugars were running high. I thought it was low GI, it's very high in fact.

Yes, diabetes here is caused by sticky rice, it's like eating refined sugar! You see them all queued up at the clinic once a month to get their Metformin (anti-diabetic pills for Type II control). Then they go back home and have a big dinner of . . . sticky rice!

All this free medical care is all well and good but it needs to be backed up with real education (I've been as bad as a westerner mind, great packs of info and still had bad habits for quite a while).

You'll also find black rice has by far the best taste. I'm no fan of rice, don't really like it that much but the black rice is something I look forward to.

[jfchandler]

Well, I happened to be shopping at the supermarket at Central Chidlom today, where they have an entire aisle of different kinds of rice, and I perused it from top to bottom...

I could find only one package labeled "black rice", and when I looked closer, it was actually a bit of black rice mixed in with a lot of brown Jasmine rice, so that's a NG.

There were all sorts of other varieties, including some expensive bags of Waitrose basmati rice, and a lot of varieties of Hom Mali rice, including red and purple.... but no black. I have no idea what to make of the red and purple varieties in terms of GI..

By the way, the Big C store at Rajdamri reopened this week, and at least before the riots, they had a very extensive section with a lot of specialty rices out in open baskets where you picked your own portion... all the colors of the rainbow as I recall... But I haven't been back in that Big C store since its reopening to see if that kind of stock is still there.

[quandow]

Another tool I cannot recommend highly enough:

www.livestrong.com/myplate

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