What’s Wrong With White Rice?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

by Erika

I’m a rice eater. I have about four different kinds of rice in my pantry at this moment.. none of them white. They may be white in color, but they’re certainly not of the “American White Rice” ilk.

Why?

There are a few reasons. But first, I think it might be important to explain the process that the grain must go through (because rice starts out as a much larger grain) in order to become the white rices and pastas that we enjoy so much.

This diagram, from The Today Show, diagrams the grain when it’s first harvested. It goes through a rice husker to have the outermost shell removed, and you’re left wit brown rice. Ta-da! The bran part of the grain is where all the rich and chewy fiber is located. The germ is where the nutrient-rich portion of the grain is found. The endosperm is, well… we’ll get to that.

Take it a step further. To get white rice, the outer husk and bran (the fiber-packed part?) are stripped from the grain, as is the nutrient-filled germ. This, obviously, leaves only the starchy endosperm. From here, the endosperm is polished in sugars and/or powders to not only aid in taste, but reshape the grain. Sounds like all of the good stuff is stripped from the grain, right?

Well, that’s because it is.

This is where that “enriched” part comes in. Processing plants will “add” vitamin D and whatever else into the endosperm so that total nutritional value isn’t lost, but it pales in comparison to what originally was in the rice in the first place. As in, what it grew from the ground carrying. Riboflavin and thiamin (which helps your body in metabolizing fats), potassium (which helps your body balance out high sodium intake), vitamin e (a skin care essential that aids in anti-aging)? All are lost when rice makes the transition from brown to white.

I won’t go on my typical trademark rant, but I will say this: rice in it’s least processed form is three times as filling as enriched white rice.

Since you can see that white rice is brown rice with all the valuable stuff stripped of it with some other stuff injected in to “enrich” the endosperm, you can see why it’s so easy to cook white rice… or why it’s so difficult to cook brown rice. What would I suggest? Honestly, ditch the minute/microwaveable rices, and opt for something else.

What else is there?

I’m a big basmati and jasmine rice eater, as well as brown rice. Basmati rice might be a bit pricier – there’s no $0.99 bag of it available anywhere – but for those who love to eat enriched white rice, both are viable options. I eat brown rice, but because I was always so used to white rice, it was a hard switch for me. What do I do instead? After I cook my brown rice (for about 45 minutes – yes, that extra nutritiony goodness means it takes much longer to cook), I use it in stir fry type dishes or I create a sauce with the leftover juices from cooking the other parts of my dish. A little lemon juice, orange peel, or even an oregano/sage/cranberry blend can go a long way.

In short, there is a benefit to taking the leap away from enriched white rice. Are you taking the leap? Have you already lept? Let me hear about it!

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Keywords

processed foods

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8 Comments

Feb 11, 2010

Jubilance

I’ve been a brown rice eater for the past several years. I like to add different spices, and I’ve also learned to cook it using a flavored veggie broth instead of just plain water, which also gives extra flavor.
Feb 11, 2010

spiderlgs

I love brown rice. I only eat white rice when its served at someone’s house and there is no other option. I am lucky to have a mom who drilled in my head that white rice, white bread, white sugar has no nutritional value so I may as well just be eating cardboard LOL but with less fiber.

I must say I am in love with your blog. It is a breath of fresh air.. it’s positive and informative and real. Thank you for the time you take to make this little space on the internet
Feb 15, 2010

Yogaweightloss

I learnt the hard way about white rice. I have been living in the East (Malaysia) for about 3 years now, and boy do they eat rice. So, there I was eating away, cause the food is bloody tasty…then came the day I decided to weigh myself. I had put on 45pounds in 2 years, and all because of the rice I have been eating. I think my downfall was mainly caused by one of the local dishes called “nasi lemak” (please note, this is eaten as breakfast). It is basically rice cooked with coconut milk, egg, some cucumber, nuts, dried anchovies and a chilli paste.

I now know, stay away from any fancy white fragrance rice!
Feb 20, 2010

Roche

You should try sprouted brown rice, it adds even more nutrition to brown rice.
Apr 8, 2010

Nikki

I have been a brown rice eater for the last 4 years. It was a hard transition. Growing up, we had white rice EVERY night. As sure as a plate was on the table, white rice was on it. I would be lying to say I don’t miss my white rice… but I can honestly say I love brown rice. Basmati and Jasmine are good also but pricey.
Apr 12, 2010

Netherland

WOW! This is so informative! I’ve asked a number of people, including nutritionists why I should eat brown instead of white, and none could ever give me the educated and detailed explanation that you have! Thanks! But still I have a question, because I’m addicted to to three things cheerios, white rice, and pecans. Embarrassingly, I can this is my diet. Anyway my question, why is it Asian people can eat white rice 2 to 3 times a day and still remain so small!?! That’s not fair!
- Apr 12, 2010
  
  Erika
  
  Off the top of my head, I offer two quick answers:
  
  1) Asian society is nowhere near as sedentary as American society. They still walk/bike their commutes, not drive.
  
  2) Their rices and grains probably don’t go through the same processing as ours.. but I’d have to check to be sure.
May 21, 2010

Kim

@Netherland, I lived in Japan for four years and people walked or rode their bikes whenever possible. I really think that has a lot to do with their small size. Plus, they worked a lot.

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