White jasmine rice is a starchy, refined food and, as such, temporarily raises blood sugar levels. Those with diabetes should choose brown jasmine rice over white jasmine rice.
Is Jasmine Rice Healthy?
Also known as Thai fragrant rice or Thai Hom Mali rice, long-grained jasmine rice doubles the pleasure of eating a steaming bowl of fluffy rice because of its delicious, nutty taste and characteristic flowery aroma. Jasmine rice is a simple carbohydrate.
White jasmine rice is simplistic in its nutritional benefits. Jasmine rice can complement an already healthy diet high in vegetables, fruit, and lean protein. Brown jasmine rice offers the additional benefit of fiber, which is important for every diet. Rice is a foundation food for over half of the population of the world. It provides an inexpensive, often easily accessible source of nutrition in areas where other food may be in short supply.
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While jasmine rice is a good source of carbohydrates, it is lacking in other important nutrients such as protein.
Jasmine Rice Nutrition
According to the USDA , 3/4 cup of cooked white jasmine rice contains:
- 160 calories
- 3 grams of protein
- 36 grams of carbohydrate
- 0 grams of fiber, fat, iron, cholesterol
When brown rice is processed into white rice, most of the vitamins and minerals are stripped. Most jasmine rice is not enriched. Enriching a food allows the manufacturer to add vitamins and minerals to a food that may have been lost during processing. Some rice is enriched with B vitamins and iron, so reading labels is essential if you are looking for those nutrients.
Is Jasmine Rice Healthy?
When combined with drinking plenty of water, eating jasmine or any other types of rice — especially whole grain, or brown, jasmine rice — may help prevent constipation. Because brown jasmine rice contains a fair amount of insoluble fiber, it can benefit digestion by helping flush food quickly through the gastrointestinal tract and softening stools.
Jasmine rice is often eaten alongside other healthy foods. When used as a complement to a diet high in vegetables, legumes, beans, fruits, and lean meats, it provides a healthy source of carbohydrate.
For athletes engaging in high intensity or endurance exercise, it can be a challenge to meet daily carbohydrate requirements to maintain glycogen levels, the storage form of carbohydrate in your muscles. White or brown jasmine rice is a good refueling food to pump glycogen back into the muscles and be ready for the next workout.
Rice is not a high quality — or complete — protein, which means it does not contain all essential amino acids. Eating foods that contain essential amino acids not produced in the human body is crucial for maintaining healthy, functioning muscles, and metabolism.
Consider Fiber and Blood Sugar
The jasmine rice perhaps most familiar to the Western palate is long-grained, smooth-textured and pearly white. Whole grain, or brown, jasmine rice retains the bran, or outer husk. Brown jasmine rice is more nutritious and higher in fiber than the white, water-milled version.
Research has found that those who have more fiber in their diets are at a reduced risk for heart disease, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Jasmine rice is regarded as a high glycemic index, or GI, food, according to a November 2013 study published in International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. A GI score indicates how quickly a food will raise your blood sugar. A high GI food has a score of 70 or above and researchers found jasmine rice to be anywhere from 96-116 on the GI scale.
White jasmine rice is a starchy, refined food and, as such, temporarily raises blood sugar levels. Those with diabetes should choose brown jasmine rice over white jasmine rice.
What is jasmine rice and how healthy is it?
Jasmine rice is a fragrant side dish in many Thai and Asian dishes, and people more commonly eat it in its refined, white form. However, consuming high carbohydrate foods, such as white rice, in excess has links with health conditions, including obesity and an increased risk of disease. Therefore, choosing whole grain varieties is more beneficial to health.
Whole grain rice has more beneficial nutrients than white rice, as it can help someone feel more full, while their body is more able to balance their energy. However, all types of rice can contain toxic arsenic.
In this article, we explore jasmine rice and its nutritional profile. In addition, we discuss the health benefits and risks of consuming it and which types to include in the diet.
Jasmine rice is a fragrant type of rice that originated in Thailand. Local people refer to it as Thai Hom Mali Rice, and they have developed superior varieties since a local farmer discovered it in 1945.
An aromatic amino aldehyde gene gives jasmine rice its distinctive flavor and fragrance, and it cooks to a soft, fluffy texture.
People use white jasmine rice more commonly, but brown varieties are also available. Uncooked white grains have a polished, clear, and glossy appearance.
Jasmine rice is suitable for Asian dishes such as Thai stir-fries, congee, and rice puddings.
The nutrition profile of jasmine rice is similar to regular white rice , with comparable amounts of calories, macronutrients, and calcium.
A 150 gram (g) serving of cooked white jasmine rice has the following nutrients :
| Nutrient | Amount per cooked 150g serving |
|---|---|
| Energy | 200 kcal |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Fat | less than a gram |
| Carbohydrate | 46 g |
| Fiber | 1.05 g |
| Calcium | 19.5 mg |
Additionally, whole grain rice varieties contain beneficial nutrients, such as magnesium, selenium, and B vitamins.
Rice is a high carbohydrate food, so the health risks and benefits of eating it are similar to those of other carbohydrates. People can include carbohydrates as part of a nutritious diet, but if they eat too much of this food type and perform little physical activity, they may increase their weight as well as their risk of chronic diseases.
The health benefits of jasmine rice depend on whether it is white or whole grain.
White rice is polished, and manufacturers remove the germ and bran from the grains, making it a refined grain. Conversely, whole grain rice contains these beneficial parts of the grain, which add fiber to someone’s diet and can slow down the release of blood sugar.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) advises that white rice typically has a high glycemic index and glycemic load, which can cause spikes in blood glucose. Additionally, the ADA indicates that populations that eat more refined grains, such as white rice, have a higher risk of diabetes.
In contrast, brown jasmine rice contains fiber that helps slow the digestion of carbs in the body.
Additionally, according to data from the USDA FoodData Central , brown jasmine rice has slightly more protein and fiber compared to white, but it does not contain the calcium that white rice does. Additionally, antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, which protect the body from free radicals, are also higher in whole grain rice.
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025 , although Americans meet recommendations for total grain intakes, 98% fall below what the government recommends for whole grains, while 74% exceed limits for refined grains.
Health experts recommend that people include whole grains in their diet because research links them to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, and other chronic diseases.
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