White Rice Surprise

RICE – A dietary staple for over half the world’s population and still having a poor image in the nutrition circle. White rice especially is almost blacklisted and put in the same category as other evil “refined carbs” such as white flour and sugar on which we blame every single disease and disorder of moder

There are many different cultures in the world who have been consuming white rice for thousands of years: India, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Philippines, Vietnam, China and many others. There are literally billions of people and many cultures that consume a large percentage of calories from starch and where obesity, metabolic problems and modern, inflammatory disease are rare or nonexistent.

Also, why the traditional wheat, millet or other cereal eating populations are not spared of these lifestyle disorders? The answer lies in the nomenclature of these disorders itself. Lifestyle disorders means health issues arising out of our modern day way of living which includes our work, activity, our comforts, stress levels and exercise apart from diet. Therefore only a rice based diet can’t be blamed for the onset of such lifestyle disorders.

Brown rice however has earned a better reputation over the years compared to other varieties of rice. Nutrition practitioners recommend a lot to consume brown rice as it contains more nutrients along with fiber.

Brown rice is brown because it has the bran on it. White rice is milled brown rice with the bran and germ removed. The germ is highly susceptible to rancidity because it contains very high content of PUFA which is easily oxidized and leads to oxidative reactions in the body

The bran is good mainly for fiber. There are some other nutrients too in the bran like vitamin B, minerals and amino acids, but along with those nutrients, quite a lot of anti-nutrients are also there in brown rice bran.

Anti-nutrients like phytic acid and lectin hinder the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Phytic acid in particular blocks absorption of nutrients such as zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and calcium – all of these are vital nutrients and are usually deficient in common people. White rice doesn’t have these anti nutrients.

That’s why brown rice is always advised to be eaten following proper soaking and cooking procedures.

White rice is “white” since its bran is removed, which also removes almost all of the phytic acid. This makes the rice more digestible and reduces its grain based fiber (which makes it less healthy for the gut).This also alters the flavor, texture and appearance of the rice and helps prevent spoilage and extend its shelf life

So grain of white rice is basically -The endosperm, which is nothing but pure starch. Sadly STARCH is considered as a toxic word in nutrition world. Because it breaks down into glucose, raises insulin, and can cause problems like insulin resistance.

Most of us are not aware that if better and modified methods of cooking and eating are adopted then even white rice can be included in a healthy diet plan. Rice has been cultivated for thousands of years (in China alone it dates back 13,500 years) and throughout this time these different cultures have learnt how to prepare rice correctly to maximize its benefits.

These modified ways of treating and cooking white rice even enhances some rare properties of rice and can lower its calorie content which makes them rather beneficial for diabetics, overweight and other diet related health problems. Yes, it’s true.