by Basic in taste but packed with nutrients, grains are a dinner staple because they are endlessly versatile. They pair well with almost any fish, meat or vegetable.
Rice is obviously a favorite – it’s the third most produced agricultural crop in the world, just behind sugarcane and corn. The top nine rice producers are located in Asia, with China producing 28% of the world’s rice in 2019.
With roots dating back to 8,000 BC and a major part of many diets, rice has naturally entered the healthy food debate. Here’s what a nutritionist has to say about the “healthiest” option.
What is the healthiest rice?
The question of the “healthiest rice” usually pits two types of rice against each other – white and brown. And while one is often preferred over the other, the answer really depends on what you need in your diet.
Brown rice has more fiber, fat and protein than white rice because of the way it is processed. Whole grains have three parts: the germ, the bran and the endosperm. Brown rice has all those parts, but manufacturers remove the germ and bran for white rice. If you’re looking to add more fiber to your diet, brown rice is a great way to do so.
But really, all rice will be a healthy addition to your diet. For nutrition scientist Kera Nyemb-Diop, the question of the “healthiest rice” is rooted in a culture of exclusion and a harmful diet.
“If rice was the only food we were eating, it would make sense (to ask that) because we are interested in having a balance of nutrients and fiber, so of course I would say that brown rice is more complete ,” says Nyemb-Diop. “But when you look at the reality, people eat meals.”
Rice is more often paired with protein and vegetables than eaten alone, making it just one component of a healthy, balanced plate. If you’re looking for a more fiber-rich meal but don’t like the taste of brown rice, there are so many high-fiber vegetables to pair alongside white rice.
“The beauty of nutrition is that you have so many options,” says Nyemb-Diop. “It saddens me to see that it’s a recipe or a religion that you have to follow and if you don’t follow it, you’re wrong.”
Ideally, Nyemb-Diop says people should enjoy a variety of rice in their diet, whether that’s white rice, brown rice, basmati rice, arborio rice, jasmine rice or other varieties.
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Is white rice healthy?
Yes, white rice is healthy. Rice is a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium, iron, folic acid, thiamin and niacin.
While white rice is sometimes maligned as the “unhealthier” of the two, this perception is indicative of a larger problem with the way we view health, says Nyemb-Diop.
More than half of the world’s population considers rice a staple food, and white rice is more widely consumed than brown rice. White rice is also a staple in the diets of many cultures.
Nyemb-Diop runs an online platform called “The Black Nutritionist” where she encourages her audience to push back against the myth that food from Black, Asian and Latino communities is inherently unhealthy. Instead, she tries to share that there are healthy and unhealthy parts to any cultural art.
Nyemb-Diop says many of her clients feel ashamed of eating food they grew up with or were told that white rice made their diet unhealthy.
“If we look around the world, some of the longer-lived communities, like Japan, rely heavily on white rice. This is not the right approach to focus on food alone, we need to focus on other aspects,” she says. “It’s also easier to say that the issue is just food when you’re in the United States – housing inequality, access to health care, access to nutritious foods – these are much (bigger) problems to address, but easier to say that it is white rice and your culture. food.”
Instead, Nyemb-Diop recommends an “abundance” or addition strategy rather than restricting one particular food from your diet.
For example, white rice has a higher glycemic index and may be a concern for diabetics or people with high blood sugar. But if it is not possible to abstain from white rice completely, you can try to pair it with protein, so the rice is not digested on its own. Instead of restricting yourself from eating white rice, ask yourself questions that will lead to a more balanced plate: “How can I add more vegetables to my diet? How can I add more fiber?”
It’s also about being realistic: it can be an overwhelming question, and sometimes irresponsible to suggest to someone whose cultural diet depends on white rice to get rid of white rice.
“It leads to an unhealthy relationship with food within marginalized communities, and that relationship will affect mental health as well as physical health,” says Nyemb-Diop. “It’s hard to feed yourself properly when you have an eating disorder, and you feel ashamed to eat the food you grew up with.”
How to incorporate rice into your life in a healthy way
Eat what you like
If you like brown rice, eat brown rice, says Nyemb-Diop. If not, don’t force yourself. Adding any type of rice to your diet will have nutritional benefits, and focusing on the pleasure of eating is a good way to strengthen your relationship with food and your body.
Riced cauliflower and broccoli, which are ground vegetables marketed as rice alternatives, have been on the rise in recent years as low-carb substitutes. Adding cauliflower or riced cauliflower to your meal will give you an extra dose of vegetables (only 1 in 10 people eat the recommended daily intake of vegetables) but it doesn’t need to replace rice.
“I think it’s great to find ways to enjoy cauliflower, we need to enjoy cauliflower for what it is and not as a substitute,” says Nyemb-Diop.
Practice an abundance mindset, not a restrictive mindset
Many of Nyemb-Diop’s clients fear adding rice or other carbohydrates to their diet because they worry about overeating or consuming too many carbs. But eating different foods – carbs, proteins, fats, fiber – in moderation is the healthiest thing you can do for your body, which requires a variety of nutrients to work.
“When you try to restrict food you tend to lose control like binge eating or overeating when you are exposed to that food,” she says. “So what I use for (my clients) is to help them through the habituation process by planning the foods they fear in a way that is mindful and intentional and focusing on the pleasure and creating flat plate. .”
If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, the National Eating Disorders Association’s confidential toll-free helpline is available by phone or text at 1-800-931 -2237 or via click-to-chat message at nationaleatingdisorders. .org/helpline. For 24/7 emergencies, text “NEDA” to 741-741.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The healthiest rice?: How white, brown rice fits into a healthy diet
