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Rice is one of the most demonized foods out there with vague claims that it causes fat gain and it is unhealthy. How many of these are true? To answer that we need to look at the nutritional value of rice. 100 grams of uncooked, white rice contains:

358 calories

79 grams of carbohydrates

6.5 grams of protein

0.5 grams of fat

Almost 80% of the total calories come from carbs making it a rich source of carbs. When the rice is cooked, 100 grams contain around 130 calories which are very low considering the amount of water it absorbs. A 100 grams of pizza contains double the calories, making it more calorie-dense. On paper, rice is a much better choice and a healthier choice than pizza. But, why is it that rice gets the hate?

In most Asian countries, rice is a staple food and is consumed almost every meal, in huge quantities. Yet, obesity rates are quite low in Asia, especially in villages. It is because the people are engaged in a lot of physical labour like farming. Some of these people have to walk miles every day to collect water. They need to consume a lot of calories to support their intense work. Rice becomes an easily available, cheap source of calories for them. Most of them cannot imagine a meal without rice. The problem arises when people consume an excessive amount of rice while being sedentary. This is what makes people fat.

Rice, when cooked, is very soft and easy to chew making it easy to overeat. Many people are not conscious about how much they are eating. Harder food items that require a lot of chewing helps to suppress hunger. Even chewing tasteless gum can suppress hunger. Rice does not allow that and people gulp down huge amounts of it without being aware. In some places, people literally drink rice mixed with water and salt. Rice does not make people fat, overeating rice is what makes people fat.

The solution here, as suggested by internet experts, is to replace white rice with brown rice. The big idea here is that brown rice contains fewer calories, more protein, fat, micronutrients, and fiber making it healthier. It also contains phytate, an anti-nutrient, which inhibits the absorption of these micronutrients. Rice is not something that should be eaten to get micronutrients or protein, it is a source of carbs. Brown rice also absorbs more inorganic arsenic which is found in pesticides and is not good for health. Talking about calories, when cooked, brown rice absorbs more water and that makes it less calorie-dense compared to white rice with the same weight. But, uncooked brown rice has more calories. Still, the difference is very small to make a significant change to body composition. Replacing white rice with brown rice will not help to shed away all excess fat in an obese person. Some people give the opposite advice, eat white rice instead of brown rice which does not make much sense.

Depending on the location, brown rice or white rice might not be available. It might not be a part of someone’s traditional diet. Brown rice requires more time to cook which also needs to be considered. There is no need to change the traditional rice on the recommendation of some person on the internet. People in many cultures have been eating rice for centuries without any problem. Why all of sudden is it unhealthy and you should replace it with brown rice or something else. It is possible to get fat with brown rice by overeating. The main concern here should be to limit the quantity and avoid being sedentary.

Eat rice but in a controlled amount.

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