As bodybuilders, our prefered choice of carbs has always been oatmeal (regular is recommended over instant)and as a second choice, rice (brown rice is recommended over white).
However, according to mendoza.com, regular oatmeal (USA) has a GI of 75 and instant oatmeal has a GI of 66 (mean of two Canada ones. No USA oatmeal available).
NS8 white rice has a GI of 64 (mean of 12 studies) and long grain rice has a GI of 56 (mean of 10 studies).
Also, according to John Berardi, white rice has a higher GI than brown rice but it has a lower II.
So, it looks like white rice is better than brown rice and regular oatmeal. And instant oatmeal is better than regular oatmeal.
So why do we even bother with regular oatmeal and brown rice?
it also says on mendoza.com that glycemic isn’t the only factor to consider. You need to consider the glycemic load. The GI of watermelon is very high, but there isn’t a lot of sugar overall, so its glycemic load, and the effect on your insulin levels isn’t great. Just something to consider.
According to the URL you posted, you’re receiving your GI info from an Argentina-based tourism site. I’m willing to bet that you’re referring to mendosa.com (capital S). Chances are that you’ve confused the glucose based GI with the white bread based GI. Post the URL of where you got the info and we can help you out. You might also want to consider whether or not sugar or other additives were present in the foods tested.
The sources that I have assign values of 49 and 75 to old fashioned and instant oatmeal, respectively. The differences between white and brown have always been neglible. Of more importance is whether or not the rice is slow cooked (48-58) or instant (80-90).
I also noticed that II discrepancy when they posted Berardi’s article, threw me for a major loop. Nevertheless, I’m -really- skeptical about those GI quotes for whole vs. instant oatmeal. Something isn’t right there. It’s only common sense that something more heavily ground is going to digest faster.
Good Question T-man. I had looked it up myself so I could pat myself on the back for making better choices. I was really suprised to see that the numbers don’t support the popular belief in oatmeal and brown rice being good carbs. Oh well.
or you can just go to mendosa.com and link from there. I believe they are quite an authority on GIs and T-mag has mentioned them before too. What source did you get your GIs from?
T-Man, I checked it myself, but I have to agree with Ko–certain numbers have to be mixed up.
I could be wrong but it simply does not seem possible for instant oatmeal to have a lower GI than "regular." Anything processed will be digested faster than something that is not.
I am not doubting your intents, I would just like to see more evidence than a single website.
Wierd isnt it. If you have any questions email him. Funny that dates would be 103 also. I noticed this a year or two ago and emailed him asking if it was possible that dates could have a higher GI than glucose. He put me in contact with the author of a well selling book on GI and the person that had done the tests, she assured me that they tested them several times and that they were the results. She too thought it was wierd.
Sam: Yes that is true however, they use 50g of each carbohydrate to test to everything so everything else being equal, white rice has a lower GI than oatmeal and brown rice.
T-Girl: First, lemme get this out of the way.
leaning on the wall with one hand How YOU doin’? Where have you been all my life?
OK. Yes, I too prefer white rice as it tastes better and goes with everything. Plus oatmeal is so filling. One bowl would fill me up and only provides 150 calories and 27g of carbs.
I always prefered white rice so I looked up the GI just to see how bad it is and I was surprised to find it better than oatmeal and brown rice.
John: I know it doesn’t make sense but these were the results of actual tests done with strict protocol. Remember when eveyone thought potatoes had a low GI because it was a complex carb? Tests showed that it had a higher GI than glucose!
Granted what mendosa says, and it might be true, but “logically” a highly processed carb can’t be good as a “whole food” carb. Further, I’m sure this is where not only the GI list comes into play, but the II (insulin index) that Berardi and others talk about in their Roundtable articles. I think you should go read them…
And finally, I’m not a big fan of white rice or any rice for that fact, but oatmeal is high in fiber, a “whole food” carb, and if you know what you’re doing, it can taste pretty damn good to. Did I mention it is cheap as hell too? Alot of those numbers on his site too, are very old, would imagine some stuff as changed, as it seems medical/nutritional info is always expanding. peace
