Why villify white rice?

Sabine_Stroehm

My husband is asian. We don't "vilify" white rice. That said he, I, his entire family, know that that just because it's asian doesn't mean it's the healthiest option (just as "just because it's...."american"..."german"....)... it's not "bad", but why NOT eat brown rice?

We have ALL switched to a brown rice blend when we are at home.

At restaurants? Sure, we'll ask for briwn rice, and if it doesn't cost an arm, we'll do that, if they have it. But in our homes? Why NOT eat a good hearty brown rice blend. We won't deny ourselves sushi. YUM why would we?

But why not brown rice when we can?
In fact, ours IS a blend. We have a summer blend and a winter blend. The summer blend has mung beans along with a few hearty brown rices...
Why not brown rice when you can?
Why not sweet potatoes?
Why not whole oats?
Why not a good whole grain bread?

taunto

I am Indian. I have lived in different parts of Asia and Europe most of my life and now am in America. Heres the difference.

Rice is rice. Like you said, Japanese folks WALK alot. folks in US underestimate walking. In US, if you wanna goto the corner store, we take our car. Then we spend an hour walking on a treadmill. In Asia, it is a norm to walk about 5-6 miles a day. Our diet is heavy on carbs and fat but our lifestyle supports it. If you're living an active lifestyle in America, sure you can have white rice too.

I lived in Italy. You think Japanese folks eat "unhealthy"? Everything has cheese, oil, pasta, meats there and wash it down with wine. In Middle East, we eat Ruz-Hashwi, chicken (with skin) thats placed on top of rice cooked in butter with lamb and deep fried Almonds. In India we have halwa-puri. Thats a sweet made out of refined flour which is then loaded up with oil and sugar (halwa) and puri is deep fried white bread and then we eat them both together along with some curry (Also loaded with oil). And thats just the breakfast. I don't know any Indian who works out....

But, inspite of all this "unhealthy" foods and "unhealthy" lifestyle, they have something in common. They walk everywhere and they don't eat alot. Also, they don't have freakin McD's and Pizza hut every day. You know in certain parts of the world, people actually dress up to goto McD's? Its basically a fancy place for you to take your date (and not in a cheap way). People there don't eat out as much as they do in US

So there you have it folks, the foreigners secret to eating crap and staying healthy. Walk, eat less and eat home cooked

KrisyKat

Where I live, white rice is non-negotiable...serve anything else, and you'll get dirty looks!! :laugh:

alli_baba

They walk everywhere and every day. They walk for pleasure, socializing, and out of necessity!

I used to live in Italy and I noticed the same thing about the Italians. Despite pasta being eaten on an almost daily basis, Italians are very slim.

Also, portion sizes were smaller, hardly anybody drank soft drinks, sweets were occasional treats, and you didn't see much snacking between meals.

secretlobster

I guess people think that eating the whole part of the rice (bran) makes it healthier. Unless you have a serious issue with IBS, or a real fiber deficiency, brown rice isn't so amazing that you should avoid white rice forever. There is nothing wrong with white rice. Is it empty carbs? Sure. But there's nothing bad about it.

The GI of most types of white rice is comparable to, or lower than, that of brown rice.

I don't avoid white rice at all and somehow I lost 40lbs. Out of all the foods to get upset over, white rice is one of the most harmless.

Raina27

I still eat white rice a few times a week and I also refuse to give it up (or anything for that matter) and I am still losing weight!! EVERYTHING in moderation works for ME!! :bigsmile:

Elen_Sia

I am Asian, hear me roar. I will NEVER EVER give up white rice. I still eat sushi. I still eat fried rice. And egg noodles. And rice noodles.

I eat very differently now compared to what I ate 6-12 months ago but I always make time and space for my beloved rice. The only difference this time is I also WORK OUT six days a week.

By the way, my body fat percentage currently is 20.9%. Be jealous.

wackyfunster

I find it ironic that Okinawans eat the opposite of what most MFP people advocate: mostly carbs, and a caloric intake that qualifies for "starvation mode" by MFP standards, and yet are the healthiest and most long-lived people on earth.

glennstoudt

Nothing white is popular for weight loss. It is an easy strategy since most on the SAD eat too much, as has been noted. I lost 20% of my former body weight with a carb reduction strategy that resulted in a caloric restriction. As I live in South Louisiana, rice is a staple, and as an Italian family in New Orleans, bread is a staple. As has been noted, there is nothing wrong with any food, it is usually the quantity. But sometimes it is easier to have a self imposed restriction for something that you may overconsume and goode results can be achieved. It is not easy to compare diets of people from other parts of the world with the SAD. It is unlikely that multiple soft drinks are consumed along with rice at every meal in India, or even Japan. And there are genetic factors involved although that is less of a factor than the quantity of consumption.
In short, white rice is of little nutritional value, but it is a great vehicle for various foods. We can consume it as everything as part of a calorie profile that makes sense for each of us.

RacerX_14

I love all rice! I also think you can all sorts of things people say are "bad" if you do so in moderation.

Acg67

Maybe brown rice is actually worse then white rice?

RonSwanson66

Maybe brown rice is actually worse then white rice?

Crazy talk:

Effects of brown rice on apparent digestibility and balance of nutrients in young men on low protein diets

J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1987 Jun;33(3):207-18. .Miyoshi H, Okuda T, Okuda K, Koishi H.

The effect of brown rice with low protein intake was studied in five healthy young men. Feces were weighed, the digestibility of nutrients was determined, and blood tests were made. Each subject followed a diet consisting mainly of polished rice for 14 days and one consisting mainly of brown rice for 8 days. Both diets contained 0.5 g protein per kg of body weight. The brown rice diet had 3 times as much dietary fiber as the polished rice diet. On the brown rice diet, fecal weight increased, and apparent digestibility of energy, protein, and fat decreased, as did the absorption rates of Na, K, and P. The nitrogen balance was negative on both diets, but more negative on the brown rice diet. The phosphorus balance on the brown rice diet was significantly negative, but other minerals were not affected by the diet. The levels of cholesterol and minerals in the plasma were not significantly different on the polished rice diet and the brown rice diet. Comparing these results with data on standard protein intake (Miyoshi, H. et al (1986) J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 32, 581-589.), we concluded that brown rice reduced protein digestibility and nitrogen balance.



Comparison of the nutritional value between brown rice and white rice.
Callegaro Mda D, Tirapegui J.

Departamento de Tecnologia e Ciência dos Alimentos-CCR-Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, RS.
Abstract
Cereals are considered an important source of nutrients both in human and animal nourishment. In this paper nutritional value of brown rice is compared to that of white rice in relation to nutrients. Results show that despite higher nutrients contents of brown rice compared to white rice, experimental datas does not provide evidence that the brown rice diet is better than the diet based on white rice. Possible antinutricional factors present in brown rice have adverse effects on bioavailability of this cereal nutrients.


(not that this matters unless your diet consists primarily of rice).

neaneawy

I'm so glad you posted this. I love white rice and i have tried numerous times to try brown, but I can't stand it. I was wondering if the asian world eats brown rice. I didn't think they could. I was in Korea and never saw brown rice and never had a choice of white or brown. I eat whole grain bread, cereal, crackers, and some pasta. Heavier pastas and rice I just can't change. It's yuck.

nz_deevaa

I don't think its the rice actually.. I've noticed that it's the way the meal is made up is different in Asian diets.

There might be a lot of white rice eaten, but it's usually with very small portions of a strongly flavoured accompaniment. We eat more of the 'accompaniment' (ie, lots of meat).

secretlobster

Feces were weighed, the digestibility of nutrients was determined,

Silly hats were worn and a good time was had by all

EngineerPrincess

I am Asian, hear me roar. I will NEVER EVER give up white rice. I still eat sushi. I still eat fried rice. And egg noodles. And rice noodles.

I eat very differently now compared to what I ate 6-12 months ago but I always make time and space for my beloved rice. The only difference this time is I also WORK OUT six days a week.

By the way, my body fat percentage currently is 20.9%. Be jealous.

Lol mine is 20% too, and my bmi's 18 (it's fine I'm fairly young) but it's always been under 21 my whole life, and I eat loads of rice. But I rarely have soft drinks. It really comes down to genetics, deciding which foods you can eat a lot of. There's ways to incorporated any food or eating habits into a healthy lifestyle just as long as you don't OVEREAT, and actually exercise. That's the only universal trick, besides finding what works best for your body personally. When I'm not getting a lot of fiber I eat veggies but I can't stand brown rice haha.

mathiasg

I thought I was doing good by giving up my white rice for brown with restaurant stir fries and the like. Thai tomorrow and I may go back to the real thing rice-wise....

I never have and could not handle sushi with brown rice.

Marvalm3

Interesting article I read the other day...

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/diabetes-more-white-rice-more-diabetes-risk.html

StarkLark

Maybe brown rice is actually worse then white rice?

fivezero15

My daughter lives in France and says no one is overweight. When she comes back to the US to visit, she notices all the obese Americans. She says the French are slim because they eat 3 meals a day and that's all. They eat white bread, butter, cream, wine, pasta, etc., but when breakfast is done, everything is put away till lunch. Ditto for lunch. Nothing till dinner. They also eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. Americans snack on junk all day. And personally, I love white rice, but because of my age (52) I am always looking for more fiber. We eat brown rice most often because of that.