Is Rice Bad For Us

From time to time, I get to hear this a lot "Stop eating rice and you will loose weight". I am certain that many of you would have come across this statement or at least thought about it. Is there any truth in this and is rice bad for us ?

Can one loose weight by eliminating rice from one's diet ?
If one makes a drastic move by eliminating rice (and other source of carbohydrate) from their diet ... one may loose weight on the scale but it is not that healthy as one of the macronutrient is removed from the diet. This could lead to other health complications. The lack of carbohydrate from one's body may or will lead to craving and the person may end up consuming sweet stuffs like juice, sweetened drinks and food and their effort may backfire.
Reality check - we Malaysians like to eat rice ...
 

Quantity of Rice Consumed
The problem is not with the rice but it is the quantity that we consume. If one consumes the right portion, rice has many benefits - especially if you could switch to healthier choice such as brown rice. So, how much do one consume.Well, one guideline is - make a fist of your hand and roughly about one to one and half of your fist size should be the quantity of rice you could consume. And as we go towards the end of the day, reduce the consumption. As stated earlier, better still if you could switch to brown rice. Now, let us understand a little bit about brown rice and refined white rice - the truth.

Brown Rice & The Origin of Refined White Rice

 
It is claimed that there are 40,000 types of rice worldwide (source:wikipedia) - how many do we know off ? By a quick count on wikipedia - there are easily about 200 types of rice listed there. So, what actually happened to these natural, vitamin and mineral rich grain. 

Once the rice is harvested, it goes to the mill where the husks are removed and it is in the state of "brown rice" - at this state, the rice has several layers that is rich in nutrients, minerals, vitamins and protein and people were consuming these. But about a century and half ago, the rice became a popular grain and companies involved in trading business would want to make money out of this. But - there was a problem, brown rice was heavier to ship & hence more expensive to transport and had a shorter shelf life and really did not taste that good. Hence, came in the milling technology to strip off the healthy layers by 'polishing' them until they got to this refined and shiny white rice that is lighter and with longer shelf life. Further to promote the marketing, refined white rice were said to be "sophisticated and modern" and labelled as "American rice" and the brown rice is for the poor. This is to benefit certain companies (just like when they said margarine is healthier than butter/cheese) in their business and after all these years we have to come like the white rice. The white rice is malnourished !

But I don't like Brown Rice   
The problems are ...

(1) It takes too long to cook
(2) It does not taste as good as white rice
(3) The texture is hard
(4) The kids hate it and I got to cook both white rice for them & brown rice for me and my 
      husband/wife/parents  
(4) It does not blend well with the curry, side dishes, etc... 

The list goes on and many are not exception to this .....

Well, after eating white rice all these years - switching to brown rice is not going to be easy for most of us ... In that case, introduce the changes slowly. Here are some suggestions:
(1) Start consuming brown rice once or twice a week and slowly increase the frequency in 
     the coming weeks/months
(2) Cook both white and brown rice ... mix them up and gradually transition into brown rice

It's an acquired taste, try it out with commitment, see how you feel and you will start liking it.


Don't be to Hard On Yourself
Once you decide to take the healthy approach to eating rice, don't be to hard on yourself. Once in a while when you are going for a feast or to that mouth watering banana leaf rice, go ahead and enjoy the meal as occasionally doing this will not have adverse impact to your fitness and health goals.

Conclusion

Malaysians like eating rice and rice is our main source of carbohydrate. Brown rice is rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Consume rice in right amount and introduce changes in incremental manner. Healthy eating habit should be embraced as a lifestyle. If you truly want it, your mind and body will find a way to make it happen.

References:
1. Wikipedia
2. John Cavanagh & Robin Broad, Yes Magazine, The Story of Refined White Rice