brown vs white HELP!!!

babyfever2009

I am having troubles understanding why Brown rice is healthier for me but 1 cup of brown rice has all of the same fat/carbs ect.. as 1 cup of white rice but 10 more calories??? I love white rice but bought brown to be healthier but why should I have it if its more calories and the same amount of fat and carbs???

RobertaG

Brown rice has more fiber

tigersword

Brown rice has more B vitamins and iron than white rice. Other than that, not much difference, other than a good marketing team. White rice has less fat, brown rice has a bit more fiber. Brown rice also has a slightly lower glycemic index than white rice. Unless you're eating rice with every meal, it's not going to make much of a difference.

shadykins

White rice/bread, etc, turns to sugar in your stomach, white products dont have the fibre that helps keep you feeling fuller, white products are bleached. Use WHOLE GRAIN products as much as possible, you will get used to it eventually and brown rice has more flavour. Remember to drink lots of water when eating whole grain foods to help you feel full longer

dmpizza

The bleachig process to make rice a uniform white color removes some of the nutrients. In fact, about 100 years ago, when they started bleaching rice they didn't know that and people started starving. So they have to add back some of the nutrients to white rice.

CarolynB38

Brown rice/pasta/bread etc also has a lower glycemic index, which basically means that the energy is absorbed more slowly. This means that you have energy for longer and are less likely to get spikes and dips in your blood sugar so you'll be less likely to crave sugary foods/carbs. With that and the extra fibre it should keep you feeling satisfied for longer than the white versions. Also they have more nutrients, vitamins, fibre etc

The good thing about fibre is that it takes some of the fat you eat out of your body before it has chance to be digested, so although it may have 10 more calories it is probably helping to remove a little of the fat that you have eaten. Also it takes a little more energy to digest so you probably aren't really consuming any more calories to worry about.

Even if it is 10 more calories, I'd rather have the wholesome, high fibre brown with all the vitamins and other nutrients :-)

nosugarcoating

With just about anything, it is best to eat food as unprocessed as possible. It may not make much of a difference in calories but it is better for you and healthier. I have switched to whole grain for as much as I can (i.e. all meals that I cook).

This is an article that explains why pretty well: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/carbohydrates

wildon883r

Don't be discouraged by those saying white rice is second to brown considering brown rice only has 1g of fiber per serving. Nutritionally speaking they are the same and we all know white rice taste's better. Japan has a 3% obesity rate compared to the US at 30+% and they are one if not the largest consumer's of rice in the world. Not to mention some of the longest living people in the world. 1 cup cooked is 200 calories. ( This is real rice not silly American quick cooked boxed types). I try to eat 3 cups of white rice daily.

RangerSteve

Don't be discouraged by those saying white rice is second to brown considering brown rice only has 1g of fiber per serving. Nutritionally speaking they are the same and we all know white rice taste's better. Japan has a 3% obesity rate compared to the US at 30+% and they are one if not the largest consumer's of rice in the world. Not to mention some of the longest living people in the world. 1 cup cooked is 200 calories. ( This is real rice not silly American quick cooked boxed types). I try to eat 3 cups of white rice daily.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

The whole glycemic index argument is garbage too. Unless you're eating the rice all by itself, the glycemic rating is going to completely alter by mixing the rice with other food anyway. Put some veggies in your white rice and now the "fast digesting" carbs in white rice no longer matter. It's good marketing by those who make brown rice, that's for sure.

babyblake11

white rice has no nutrients and although they may be quite similar calories if you are sensitive to bad sugar and carbs you can still put on weigh with too much white rice,bread etc.
brown rice is hell good for you as well as wholemeal bread and such.
worth the switch.
i always choice the healthiest option over the lowest calories.

RangerSteve

white rice has no nutrients and although they may be quite similar calories if you are sensitive to bad sugar and carbs you can still put on weigh with too much white rice,bread etc.
brown rice is hell good for you as well as wholemeal bread and such.
worth the switch.
i always choice the healthiest option over the lowest calories.

You can put weight on with brown rice just as easily. Also, what is "bad sugar" anyway? Simple carbohydrates have their place. There are a lot of us who enjoy them and need them in order to fuel our exercise. Also, white rice mixed with vegetables, protein, fat, etc will completely change the dynamic and the digestion rate of the entire meal.

ninerbuff

White rice/bread, etc, turns to sugar in your stomach, white products dont have the fibre that helps keep you feeling fuller, white products are bleached. Use WHOLE GRAIN products as much as possible, you will get used to it eventually and brown rice has more flavour. Remember to drink lots of water when eating whole grain foods to help you feel full longer

All carbs are broken down to sugar in the end. White rice isn't as bad as many make it out to be. If white rice was so bad, then the Asian cultures should be worse off than Americans when it comes to health issues.

babyblake11

white rice has no nutrients and although they may be quite similar calories if you are sensitive to bad sugar and carbs you can still put on weigh with too much white rice,bread etc.
brown rice is hell good for you as well as wholemeal bread and such.
worth the switch.
i always choice the healthiest option over the lowest calories.

You can put weight on with brown rice just as easily. Also, what is "bad sugar" anyway? Simple carbohydrates have their place. There are a lot of us who enjoy them and need them in order to fuel our exercise. Also, white rice mixed with vegetables, protein, fat, etc will completely change the dynamic and the digestion rate of the entire meal.

thanks i definetly worded that wrong, if you are sensitive to carbs it doesnt matter what kind you have you could put on weight.
but brown rice still has more nutrients so if your are more about nutrients rather than calories or are a health nut like me then choose brown.

Pebble321

More fibre, more nutrients, less processing.
I really like brown rice. Now I'm used to it, white rice seems bland and tasteless to me.
But, if you like white rice, go for it - if you're eating it with veggies you're probably getting fibre from there anyway.

undermajorconstruction

white rice has no nutrients and although they may be quite similar calories if you are sensitive to bad sugar and carbs you can still put on weigh with too much white rice,bread etc.
brown rice is hell good for you as well as wholemeal bread and such.
worth the switch.
i always choice the healthiest option over the lowest calories.

You can put weight on with brown rice just as easily. Also, what is "bad sugar" anyway? Simple carbohydrates have their place. There are a lot of us who enjoy them and need them in order to fuel our exercise. Also, white rice mixed with vegetables, protein, fat, etc will completely change the dynamic and the digestion rate of the entire meal.

I was thinking the same thing when it comes to Asians. I love Jasmine rice and really am having a hard time converting to brown but I have been forcing myself to eat it.

OP, maybe you should try eating it with only one meal per day and also watch your portion. I used to mix brown and white but then I just started adding more veggies.

RangerSteve

I was thinking the same thing when it comes to Asians. I love Jasmine rice and really am having a hard time converting to brown but I have been forcing myself to eat it.

OP, maybe you should try eating it with only one meal per day and also watch your portion. I used to mix brown and white but then I just started adding more veggies.

Why force yourself to eat something you don't enjoy? How will that end up working out for you over the course of your lifetime? If you enjoy jasmine rice, eat that kind. Eat the things you want to eat or you're going to spend the next 50 years of your life being forcing yourself to eat things you don't wan to eat. That's no way to live. The difference between jasmine rice and brown rice is so insignificant that it can't even be explained. If the fiber content is that much of a big deal, eat 1 single carrot with your jasmine rice and you're set.

tigersword

white rice has no nutrients and although they may be quite similar calories if you are sensitive to bad sugar and carbs you can still put on weigh with too much white rice,bread etc.
brown rice is hell good for you as well as wholemeal bread and such.
worth the switch.
i always choice the healthiest option over the lowest calories.

You can put weight on with brown rice just as easily. Also, what is "bad sugar" anyway? Simple carbohydrates have their place. There are a lot of us who enjoy them and need them in order to fuel our exercise. Also, white rice mixed with vegetables, protein, fat, etc will completely change the dynamic and the digestion rate of the entire meal.

thanks i definetly worded that wrong, if you are sensitive to carbs it doesnt matter what kind you have you could put on weight.
but brown rice still has more nutrients so if your are more about nutrients rather than calories or are a health nut like me then choose brown.

Actually, white rice and brown rice are nutritionally equal. The b vitamins and iron that are in the hull that's removed from brown rice are added back into the white rice.

ninerbuff

Why force yourself to eat something you don't enjoy? How will that end up working out for you over the course of your lifetime? If you enjoy jasmine rice, eat that kind. Eat the things you want to eat or you're going to spend the next 50 years of your life being forcing yourself to eat things you don't wan to eat. That's no way to live. The difference between jasmine rice and brown rice is so insignificant that it can't even be explained. If the fiber content is that much of a big deal, eat 1 single carrot with your jasmine rice and you're set.

I totally agree. I know that people want to be healthier and a shift to healthier choices will help, however part of being healthy is not mentally "stressing" out over food choices because you're worried if there's a option that's better. Blech. As a trainer I used to just preach about "you should only eat blah, blah, blah", but as the years rolled on I realized that people enjoy foods that aren't always the healthiest choices. Now my programs are built around what people currently eat, and I will encourage some changes, but I DO NOT delete anything out of their current eating habits. They'll figure out on their own how to fit it into their own calories limits. Moderation is KING in my programs and it works because the percentage of clients that regain is low now.