white rice is it good for u

[Kelgogi]

Its not that bad, many worse things you can eat. The reason why people say white rice is bad is that it can be considered a "processed," or "refined" food.

The processing is that the natural bran component of the rice grain has been removed. This eliminates the natural fiber, various Vitamin Bs, and other nutrients that are good for you. The white rice folks will then spray vitamins and minerals back on the rice to try to put back the nutrition they removed in the first place.

They still miss some things, and the most glaring omission is the fiber.

Why take off the bran and attempt to make up for it with artificial vitamin addatives? Because the fiber contained in the bran coating on natural brown rice makes the texture slightly more chewey, and it also makes it take twice as long to cook, both considered negatives by the vast majority of rice consumers.

When you eat white rice, since the fiber for the most part removed, your system digests the grain very rapidly, breaking the rice starches down into glucose (sugar) much more rapidly than if you ate brown rice (the bran coating of fibers slows digestion down significantly).

Essentially, what you get with white rice is an influx of sugar in your bloodstream that is not mitigated by the natural slowing action of the bran fiber. This is why some consider white rice not terribly healthy.

This thread makes me all sorts of happy, and Grady is completely correct with his explanation. With that said, I'm glad some folks have already mentioned the whole skinny Asian phenomenon (it's not really a phenomenon). We can all talk about daily caloric intake and white rice being a simple carb, which invariably breaks down to turn into sugar... which then turns into fat. And while there isn't really any refuting that being fat is a social stigma in most Asian countries and that most Asians tend to eat far less than most Americans, there are definitely those Asians that have eaten their fair share of white rice their entire lives and haven't gotten fat because of it (me included).

A lot of it has to do with one's natural metabolism. Also, please keep in mind that in many Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and China... fish is a staple in everyone's diet. NO ONE just eats plain white rice or brown rice. If some do, I've never heard of such a thing. Wandy loves him some chicken and rice, and he's by no means a fatty. Many Asians love to eat fish and rice, and a vast majority of that fish has Omega-3's and other good fats that help break down the bad fats in a person's body. In other words, I don't think the skinny Asian-white rice theory can really stand alone without introducing additional foods that we eat along with our lifestyles. Asian martial artists and Asian videogamers also tend to have significant differences in the way they eat and burn calories.

With that said, brown rice IS healthier than white rice. Plain and simple. If you can get by the differences in texture AND you're trying to lean down, it'd be a far more intelligent choice for you. I like to mix natural brown rice, brown sweet rice, and barley in a secret ratio taught to me by my Korean mother (in the rice cooker of course). And it comes out more delicious than most white rice dishes.

 

[JKOFF]

Daily caloric intake per capita — Country Comparisons | world map

United States: 3754
Japan: 2768
Thailand: 2425

Of course their calorie average is lower... their average height is like a foot smaller than ours.

 

[fittafeis]

one single food is never good or bad for you. Its relative to how much and how often you eat it and what else your diet consists of. You can easily include white rice in a healthy diet, but as far as carbs go personally I find it boring as hell except in a sushi roll.

Each to his own, but for starchy carbs im going potatoes!

 

[Bravo Four]

Hey guys, question.

I was always under impression white rice was the -good for you- rice. When I hear -brown rice- I picture -fried rice- two very different things I bet .

I have 0 problem switching out of white rice if it is necessary. Are you saying go with brown rice?

My average meal after a long workout is diced grilled chicken over a heaping pile of white rice and a lite dash of soy sauce.

 

[K Flow]

Hey guys, question.

I was always under impression white rice was the -good for you- rice. When I hear -brown rice- I picture -fried rice- two very different things I bet .

I have 0 problem switching out of white rice if it is necessary. Are you saying go with brown rice?

My average meal after a long workout is diced grilled chicken over a heaping pile of white rice and a lite dash of soy sauce.

Your eating a heavy carb meal after a long workout, I'd say youre fine.

 

[closetfighter]

Daily caloric intake per capita — Country Comparisons | world map

United States: 3754
Japan: 2768
Thailand: 2425

jesus christ, thats a disturbing fact for westerners.

 

[TeddyRoosevelt]

Hey guys, question.

I was always under impression white rice was the -good for you- rice. When I hear -brown rice- I picture -fried rice- two very different things I bet .

I have 0 problem switching out of white rice if it is necessary. Are you saying go with brown rice?

My average meal after a long workout is diced grilled chicken over a heaping pile of white rice and a lite dash of soy sauce.

Directly after a workout, especially a long one, a quickly digestable carb (such as white rice) might actually be preferable for several reasons.

Any other time, brown (not fried) is the better option.

 

[Bravo Four]

I'll keep that in mind, thank you for the replies.

What types of rices do you want to avoid? I looked in my cupboard and I have found different type of rices (packets) that I can cook. Most of them are stove top or Uncle Ben's (he's a good dude). Some of them are flavored or are wild rice combinations and probably additives to taste better.

So my question would be, besides white and brown rice, are the flavored and all others sort of unhealthy to a degree because they may have alot of unhealthy parts?

 

[junkyard dog]

Just stick with the plain white and brown and add your own flavoring to them.

I dont like the pre-seasoned items, they have alot of added junk to them

 

[caesar]

If you ever lived out in asia for any period of time you'll know that they absolutely do eat less. Portion size is probably the most significant reason why asian people are generally skinny. There's also a much worse social stigma against being fat over there ( a lot worse than in Western countries).

Portion size does play a part but there are other factors to consider. You can't generalize that 'asian people are generally skinny' to the fact that they eat less. Here in Japan i'm amazed at how much food is eaten here and the people remain very healthy.

Why, firstly the amount of people who walk/ride bicycles, and don't drive vehicles is one important aspect. In North America people drive everywhere, don't even get out of their fucking cars to walk into a fast food joint, they'd rather wait in the drive thru line-up for 20 minutes, seriously 20 minutes!!! then walk inside and order their food.

I remember going to a Tim Horton's and looking at the drive-thru line up there must have been 15-20 cars easily it was insane but there were no customers in the restaurant itself. Fuck that is pathetic.

People eat oily/fattening foods here in Japan but the difference is as soon as they leave the restaurant they are walking/riding their bike to work or walking to the subway station.

 

[Simster]

I'm not too sure about this but I think metabolism plays a big role.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Bravo Four]

Portion size does play a part but there are other factors to consider. You can't generalize that 'asian people are generally skinny' to the fact that they eat less. Here in Japan i'm amazed at how much food is eaten here and the people remain very healthy.

Why, firstly the amount of people who walk/ride bicycles, and don't drive vehicles is one important aspect. In North America people drive everywhere, don't even get out of their fucking cars to walk into a fast food joint, they'd rather wait in the drive thru line-up for 20 minutes, seriously 20 minutes!!! then walk inside and order their food.

I remember going to a Tim Horton's and looking at the drive-thru line up there must have been 15-20 cars easily it was insane but there were no customers in the restaurant itself. Fuck that is pathetic.

People eat oily/fattening foods here in Japan but the difference is as soon as they leave the restaurant they are walking/riding their bike to work or walking to the subway station.

It doesn't get more true than this! We americans don't walk to anywhere near the degree people in europe or asia do.

Or Africa. Try getting chased by wildlife every day when you wake up. Good cardio regimine we don't have over here.

 

[Steakeater**]

But that is at a restaurant, not home. There is a difference.

there is?

 

[turbozed]

Portion size does play a part but there are other factors to consider. You can't generalize that 'asian people are generally skinny' to the fact that they eat less. Here in Japan i'm amazed at how much food is eaten here and the people remain very healthy.

Why, firstly the amount of people who walk/ride bicycles, and don't drive vehicles is one important aspect. In North America people drive everywhere, don't even get out of their fucking cars to walk into a fast food joint, they'd rather wait in the drive thru line-up for 20 minutes, seriously 20 minutes!!! then walk inside and order their food.

I remember going to a Tim Horton's and looking at the drive-thru line up there must have been 15-20 cars easily it was insane but there were no customers in the restaurant itself. Fuck that is pathetic.

People eat oily/fattening foods here in Japan but the difference is as soon as they leave the restaurant they are walking/riding their bike to work or walking to the subway station.

Yeah if you would've asked me I'd say that's a part of the equation. Energy expended is obviously an important variable in whether calories are stored. I'd definitely put that factor far ahead of the social stigma motivation (the social stigma explanation can be considered an effect of the other factors, as less obese people mean that obese people stick out even more. i maintain that it's also a cause though).

We've all been talking about 'skinny' as in weight. However, when it comes to body composition, there are asian countries I've been to where girls that look slender and skinny are actually skinny fat. I've grabbed my fair share asian flesh and the skinny girls over there have very little muscle mass to go along with their low weight. A large percent of them just feel blubbery, not like the Western hardbodies you see at the Crazy Horse in Vegas. Just my experience...

 

[KILL KILL]

I think the majority of people in here are better off getting the rest of their diet in check before they even begin to worry about what kind of rice they eat.

 

[loyalyolayal]

In Thailand, Laos and Malaysia (IIRC), when they give a serving of rice, they scoop it from the cooker with a small metal cup, about the same capacity as a tea-cup. One serving is about that size- a really small size compared to what westerners usually eat. In normal Thai restaurants, a dish with shrimp might have 4-5 small shrimps, and a dish with chicken might have 7-8 small strips of chicken.

This picture is quite typical of a portion of food in Thailand, in a restaurant aimed at Thai people, rather than tourists:

My experience of Japan and Korea is that portions there are a bit larger, but still small compared to Western-sized portions.

the typical serving in an asian restaurant is imitating western concept of "serving". they'll usually order more rice after that. in fact, rice makes up most of the income in an asian restaurant. the meat/fish/veggie? if they can break even from those they're good.

 

[Prodigal Son]

they eat less

this is most likely the correct answer

 

[caesar]

We've all been talking about 'skinny' as in weight. However, when it comes to body composition, there are asian countries I've been to where girls that look slender and skinny are actually skinny fat. I've grabbed my fair share asian flesh and the skinny girls over there have very little muscle mass to go along with their low weight. A large percent of them just feel blubbery, not like the Western hardbodies you see at the Crazy Horse in Vegas. Just my experience...

I'll agree with you there the girls here although they look healthy because they are skinny are actually very inactive and have no physical stamina.

Once again I am 'generalizing' but like you said looks can be deceiving; our image of what a 'healthy' person should look like is 'skinny', which is false.

Many factors need to be considered,...

 

[Tavares1988]

IM asian i eat white rice 4 times a day with adobo

 

[Almus Monk]

how about basmati? it is different to brown and some white rices