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Best Rice Varieties for people with Diabetes
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Can people with diabetes consume rice?
Let’s first bust some myths. Due to the starch and carbohydrate content, it is thought that eating rice increases your blood sugar levels and so it should not be included in a diabetes diet plan.
This is not true. You can eat rice. If you consider the nutritional profile of rice, you would understand why rice should be a part of your diet for diabetes.
Nutritional profile of rice
We eat rice not just because it’s soft, tasty, and easy to digest, it’s a high-energy food that is packed with nutrients.
- It is loaded with calories containing around 345 calories for every 100 grams.
- It is cholesterol free
- It’s rich in vitamins and minerals
- It is good for promoting good gut bacteria
- Rice contains less sodium and so is better for people with hypertension
- It’s full of calcium, potassium, iron, and phosphorus
- Rice contains riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, and other vitamins that prevent certain forms of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease
While there are numerous benefits of rice, the fact that they are polished or whitened robs this grain of many of its nutrients. In the buffing process that happens in milling, rice loses most of its fiber content. The top layer called the barn layer, which contains most of the nutrients is lost during milling.
Moreover, the glycemic index of white rice (boiled) is around 73 which is very high. A porridge made from rice has a glycemic index of 78. This means that white rice releases sugar into the bloodstream very quickly and increases your post-meal blood sugar levels. That is why white rice should not be a part of your diabetes diet plan.
Best varieties of rice for people with diabetes
Here are some varieties of rice that have lesser glycemic index when compared to white rice. This means they take more time to digest and release sugars into the bloodstream slowly.
Alternative to white rice | Glycemic Index (boiled) |
Brown rice | 50 to 55 |
Whole grain basmati rice | 50 to 52 |
Steamed brown rice | Around 50 |
Red rice | Around 55 |
Black rice | 42 to 45 |
Wild rice | 45 |
Whole grain basmati rice is known to have resistant starch, cooper, and magnesium that increases the digestion time and so should be a part of your diabetes diet plan. While lower glycemic index varieties like whole grain basmati rice, black rice, and wild rice are good options to be included in your diabetic food list, the method of cooking might increase the glycemic index drastically.
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People with diabetes are usually given a list of foods to avoid with diabetes or a diet with a low glycemic index. Including a suitable variety of rice or low glycemic foods can help control what to eat in diabetes.
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