Today’s battle is between two ‘evil carbohydrates’ which health guru Peter Evens would deny have any benefits at all. Once again Pete, you’re wrong.
Quinoa (pronounced Kin-wah) is hailed as a superfood for its relatively high protein content as a carbohydrate based food. The protein in Quinoa is high quality protein containing 9 essential amino acids making it an excellent food to include for vegetarians. Quinoa is a gluten-free grain and is also an excellent carbohydrate choice for people with diabetes with a GI of 53 and GL of 13.
Glycemic Load (GL) is a measure of both the quality (the GI value) and quantity (grams per serve) of a carbohydrate in a meal. Evidence is now suggesting that the GL of meals needs to be reduced as well as GI in controlling weight and blood glucose levels.
Rice is also predominantly carbohydrate and because of its higher carbohydrate and fat content, has a slightly higher calorie content than that of Quinoa.
Brown Rice has a similar calorie content to White Rice . However, contains higher dietary fibre and protein and lower carbohydrate content. The dietary fibre and protein content of both white and brown rice are lower than that of Quinoa . Therefore, a lower amount of Quinoa will provide more nutrition and keep you satisfied for longer.
A wide range of white rice is available with Basmati, Doongara (lowGI) or Wild Rice being the best choices based on their low-moderate GI rating. Most brown has a moderate GI and a GL between 15-25.
WINNER – QUINOA
Credit Steve Thomas for this battle topic
