Is White Rice Good for You?

Is White Rice Good for You?

Many of us are lead to believe that brown rice is the way forward, and white rice is the devil. If that is the case, why are so many countries around the world still eating white rice as a staple part of their every day diet? For many of the population around the world, rice is one of the main and only food sources, although it is smart to remember that this is a product that is refine, and because of this, much of the nutrient value is removed. Despite that, it’s a tasty food, and it does still bring with it some nutritional goodness.

Is White Rice Good for You?

To understand white rice a little better, we should break it down. 100g of rice will provide you with the following:

  • 130 Calories
  • 0.3g Total Fat
  • 1mg Sodium
  • 0.4% Dietary Fiber (1% RDA)
  • 35mg Potassium (1% RDA)
  • 28g Total Carbohydrates (9% RDA)
  • 2.7g Protein (5% RDA)
  • 1% RDA Calcium
  • 1% RDA Iron
  • 5% RDA Vitamin B6
  • 3% RDA Magnesium

*RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance

There is NO cholesterol in 100g of white rice. There are, however, a whole bunch of benefits from eating white rice …

White Rice - Benefits

Despite being constantly told we should turn to brown rice for our dinner dishes, there are many benefits to eating white rice. As with most foods, it should be eaten in moderation – there are plenty of other foods you could use as side dishes. Cous cous, for example, is a tasty alternative. There is also quinoa and barley, and also cauliflower rice.

White rice can provide you with plenty of energy in the form of carbohydrates. 100g of white rice gives you 9% of your recommended daily allowance, and it’s relatively low in calories also. This obviously does depend on what you serve it with though.

White rice is also packed with protein, and this is what will help you to develop your muscles. The meat that you serve with rice is generally high in protein also, and this, combined with the amino acids found in white rice, provide an especially great combination for your muscles, especially if you want to tone them up a little.

There is a relatively low fiber content in white rice, and this makes it a great dish for those that require low-fiber dishes. If you have morning sickness due to pregnancy, colitis, or even diarrhea, white rice is a great way to sort the problem fast.

White rice has a few other properties, one of which is anti-inflammatory, albeit a mild one. It’s also a mild diuretic, meaning it’ll flush the bad toxins out of your body a lot quicker. There are other nutrients present in 100g of white rice, all of which play their part in improving the health of your body. Manganese, for example, can help to boost your immune system, and your cognitive processes are improved with the thiamine content. If you have problems with your kidneys or high blood pressure, the low sodium content will also make white rice a great choice for your diet. You see – things aren’t so bad.

Eating White Rice

White rice is a popular food all around the world, despite the recent negative name it seems to have earned itself. For the most part, it isn’t actually the white rice on its own that’s so bad – it’s what you would serve alongside the side dish, and also how you would cook it. Steaming is better than egg-frying it, for example, and boiling in water often takes out any of the remaining nutritional value.

To make sure you are serving up your white rice the right (and healthiest) way, make sure you cook it thoroughly before you cook it to get rid of any bleaching chemicals or other agents. Using olive oil – a teaspoon of – in the water below you add the rice will help it from sticking together in that annoying way it does, and you should try to leave it along while it cooks too. Stirring rice while it is cooking can make it stick together.

Warnings

Although there are a lot of benefits to eating white rice, there are some warnings too. This is a high glycemic food, also known as a “fast carbohydrate”, and this can lead to a spike in insulin levels. Constant and repetitive white rice consumption can increase your chances of getting diabetes type 2.

Brown rice does offer a lower GI level form of rice if you wanted a healthier substitute.

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