Indian Rice Doesn't Lead to Diabetes

Bangalore: Rice isn’t as bad as it is commonly thought to be. In reality, two types of rice commonly consumed by India's middle classes have now been found to have the lowest Glycemic Index (GI) in comparison with 233 other types of rice consumed around the world, reported Koutenya Sinha for TOI. GI is the measure of effects of carbohydrates that raise blood sugar levels after eating.

Swarna and Mahsuri's GI levels were noted to be below 55. Another favorite among Indians, Basmati also fared well but figured in the middle GI group (with GI levels above 60). This means that Indians, particularly the country's 60 million diabetic population, need not worry about having rice in their diet.

Those measured 55 and less are low GI foods, medium GI are those measured between 56 and 69, while high GI measures 70 and above.

The study conducted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the University of Queensland found that three of the top 10 rice varieties with lowest GI were being grown and consumed by Indians. Chief researcher Dr Melissa Fitzgerald told TOI that rice grown in China called Shen Huang Zhin 2 was noted to have the lowest GI (around 45) while a variety in Laos had the highest GI (92).