White Rice Unhealthy?

HealthyMakeover
HealthyMakeover Posts: 142 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Somebody beat it in my head that white rice is bad for me, and I should not eat it at all.

My question is... is that necessarily true? What is so bad with white rice?

Also: I don't mean the rice after toppings and such, I mean the white rice completely alone.
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Replies

  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Are all the Asian people sick/ dying/ fat?. So NO it's fine.
  • HealthyMakeover
    HealthyMakeover Posts: 142 Member
    That is totally what I should have said to this person!! Thank you.
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
    ITT only Asians eat rice.
  • Dewymorning
    Dewymorning Posts: 762 Member
    Yeah, rice is a staple for BILLIONS of people around the world. Brown rice has a higher fibre content, and other rices contain different nutrients, but there is nothing inherently unhealthy about white rice.

    Just watch your portion size.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I eat white rice.

    Just make sure you're accurately weighing and logging your portion and fitting it into your goals.
  • joan23_us
    joan23_us Posts: 263 Member
    yes if you eat a tone of it all day... 1-2 cups a day is fine but then again all things eaten in tones are unhealthy, different objective, different approach, eat in moderation you should be fine.
  • asciident
    asciident Posts: 166 Member
    I switched to brown rice to get more fiber, but as long as you're minding the calories in the rice it doesn't matter white/brown/other varieties. Eat what you like.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    I like white rice, frankly, better than brown....unless it's a gourmet brown rice dish.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    White rice is the only kind of rice I eat... especially basmati rice! Eating it didn't prevent me from losing weight (or keeping it off for about two years now.) It may not be the most nutrition packed food I eat, but it's not the worst either. I eat more than enough other stuff that's healthy that I don't see why I shouldn't eat the type of rice I prefer. My take... life it too short to eat nasty brown rice. :laugh:
  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
    It spikes insulin and triggers the body to store fat. Unless you are an athlete or a body builder, I wouldn't eat it especially if you are overweight and insulin resistant.....which most obese people are.
  • joan23_us
    joan23_us Posts: 263 Member
    White rice is the only kind of rice I eat... especially basmati rice! Eating it didn't prevent me from losing weight (or keeping it off for about two years now.) It may not be the most nutrition packed food I eat, but it's not the worst either. I eat more than enough other stuff that's healthy that I don't see why I shouldn't eat the type of rice I prefer. My take... life it too short to eat nasty brown rice. :laugh:

    have you tried riviana brown rice with a nutty flavour.... eaten with chilli tuna and mix carrots, peas and green peas.. damn... im hungry... time for that TREAT MEAL... LOL
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    NO, it's not unhealthy.


    It's actually a bit debatable whether brown rice is 'healthier' at all. The 'antinutrients' (I know, it sounds made up but they're actually compounds that block nutrient absorption like phytic acid) in brown rice might actually make white rice come out on top for nutrient absorption. In the plus column for brown rice is fiber- so I guess it wins if your diet lacks fiber sources.
  • Michiiba
    Michiiba Posts: 27
    White rice is the only kind of rice I eat... especially basmati rice! Eating it didn't prevent me from losing weight (or keeping it off for about two years now.) It may not be the most nutrition packed food I eat, but it's not the worst either. I eat more than enough other stuff that's healthy that I don't see why I shouldn't eat the type of rice I prefer. My take... life it too short to eat nasty brown rice. :laugh:

    Rice is nutrient dense :3
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    It spikes insulin and triggers the body to store fat. Unless you are an athlete or a body builder, I wouldn't eat it especially if you are overweight and insulin resistant.....which most obese people are.

    If that is true then why didn't Asians get fat? They didn't until they started eating Western crap.
  • HappyGladGal
    HappyGladGal Posts: 21 Member
    I eat white rice too. I can't eat brown rice cause it makes me bloated and nausea. White rice is refined grain, which turns to glucose faster than brown rice. Brown rice is a complex grain and has a higher fibre content, hence it slows down the breakdown into glucose. Depends on your stats, e.g. Your weight, calorie intake and needs, personally i take about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooked white rice during a meal, complete with veggies, protein and healthy fats. Key is to eat in moderation.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I eat rice all the time! I mostly eat brown rice for that little bit of extra fiber, but I'm fine with white rice, too. If you aren't insulin resistant or diabetic, I can't see a reason not to eat it if it's within your calories.
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
    I eat white rice too. I can't eat brown rice cause it makes me bloated and nausea. White rice is refined grain, which turns to glucose faster than brown rice. Brown rice is a complex grain and has a higher fibre content, hence it slows down the breakdown into glucose. Depends on your stats, e.g. Your weight, calorie intake and needs, personally i take about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooked white rice during a meal, complete with veggies, protein and healthy fats. Key is to eat in moderation.

    White rice has a GI rating of about 65, and brown rice has a slightly lower rating of 55, according to the Harvard Medical School.

    Which isn't that big of a difference... Especially if you are using gylcemic load...

    Do you even GI?
  • HealthyMakeover
    HealthyMakeover Posts: 142 Member
    Thank you all for the answers! I might make myself some white rice and vegetables tomorrow for lunch, if my schedule allows me!
  • Shonjikari
    Shonjikari Posts: 13
    Growing up in an Asian household, we eat white rice fairly often. My grandmother, who is diabetic, added barley grains to her rice and cooks it with the white rice. :) It has the same taste and texture as properly cooked white rice.

    Personally after growing up eating only white rice, I don't like a lot of other rices. :(
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    White rice is delicious and perfectly healthy.

    Hell, when was the last time someone made rice pudding with brown rice?
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I have white rice a few times a week and so far I seem fine. No insulin spikes leading to fat storage or whatever.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    I AM WHITE RICE. CONSUME ME AND YOU WILL ENJOY RICHES BEYOND IMAGINATION. RRRRIIIIICHESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    Somebody beat it in my head that white rice is bad for me, and I should not eat it at all.

    My question is... is that necessarily true? What is so bad with white rice?

    Also: I don't mean the rice after toppings and such, I mean the white rice completely alone.

    The nutritional differences in white and brown rice are so minute that you will have to make your own personal choice. If you want a tiny bit more fiber; eat brown rice and if you want the nutrients to be absorbed a tiny bit easier/faster...eat white. Both are high calorie, which means that 2 cups a day ( as one poster suggested) adds up to 650 calories, which is fine if you have the calories to spend. If not practice moderation......it's simple....:o).
  • rickyll
    rickyll Posts: 188 Member
    White rice is no healthier or no less healthier than brown rice. Brown rice is composed of larger molecules (less processed) so your body takes a longer time breaking it down and thus, Brown rice give you more energy for longer periods of time and makes you feel full for longer than white rice does.

    Only difference. well not the only difference but a major one.
  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
    It spikes insulin and triggers the body to store fat. Unless you are an athlete or a body builder, I wouldn't eat it especially if you are overweight and insulin resistant.....which most obese people are.

    If that is true then why didn't Asians get fat? They didn't until they started eating Western crap.

    You might find this study interesting.


    National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a research program from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Dr. Karen Kim, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, said: 'It looks as if we (Asians) don’t have a problem. But it’s a huge problem. 'There are huge differences where weight does not adequately reflect the realities of complications from being overweight.

    'For Asians, you do not have to be overweight to get the complications for obesity.' But that is likely to be masking a problem in the Asian community, leading people to falsely believe that they are healthier than they actually are.


    Asians carry their weight around their organs so cardiovascular disease, can start in normal-weight Asians who have a BMI of just 19 or 20.

    Moral of the story.....just because you are "skinny fat" does not mean you are healthy.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    It's unhealthy if there's no butter or salt in it.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    NO, it's not unhealthy.


    It's actually a bit debatable whether brown rice is 'healthier' at all. The 'antinutrients' (I know, it sounds made up but they're actually compounds that block nutrient absorption like phytic acid) in brown rice might actually make white rice come out on top for nutrient absorption. In the plus column for brown rice is fiber- so I guess it wins if your diet lacks fiber sources.

    Yep.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    It spikes insulin and triggers the body to store fat. Unless you are an athlete or a body builder, I wouldn't eat it especially if you are overweight and insulin resistant.....which most obese people are.

    Much more than brown? What about in a mixed macro meal?

    How do you store fat in a caloric deficit?

    Have a read of this

    http://www.weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319
  • IIIIISerenityNowIIIII
    IIIIISerenityNowIIIII Posts: 425 Member
    Rice has been found to have VERY high levels of cancer-causing arsenic. The FDA has warned the public to not overdue their intake. It's really sad seeing people giving their babies spoonfuls of rice cereal all the time. Brown rice levels of arsenic are actually higher than white rice, so the FDA says you can eat it in moderation.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Rice has been found to have VERY high levels of cancer-causing arsenic. The FDA has warned the public to not overdue their intake. It's really sad seeing people giving their babies spoonfuls of rice cereal all the time. Brown rice levels of arsenic are actually higher than white rice, so the FDA says you can eat it in moderation.

    Here's the statement from the FDA in case anyone is curious. I googled because I hadn't heard about it. They're saying basically that there's no immediate risk but to eat it in moderation.

    http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/Metals/ucm319870.htm

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