Basmati rice

[fairy!]

I heard somewhere that Basmati rice is even lower GI than brown rice... is this correct?  If not, is it any better for you than regular white rice?

[camille79]

not sure about basmati but Bangladeshi rice has the lowest GI of any (according to my GI bible anyway!).  Apparently you can find it in some Indian/Ethnic grocers/wholesalers.

[brachiopod]

What is 'GI'?

[natalie_1982]

Glycemic Index I think.  It's a new diet that rates food as High GI, Medium GI or Low GI.  It's supposedly very healthy and concentrates on eating mainly low GI foods, but you can also eat the odd crisps or chocs.

[camille79]

A Natalie says, GI stands for Glycaemic Index.  Not an expert, but think it is a reference to how quickly the food is converted into sugar by the body.  Followed correctly, it stops those blood sugar crashes that leave us reaching for the biscuit tin and provides sustainable energy throughout the day.

[gem_mother]

From what I've read brown rice has a lower GI value than white rice but not by that much and basmati is lower than both.  I would assume that brown basmati might be lower still!  Different websites and books give various values but I think that different processing techniques alter the outcome.  I read a while ago that there were moves afoot to list GI values in the tables of calorific values, etc. printed on foodstuff packets and I think some manufacturers have already started to do this.