The White Rice Secret

I'm losing weight fast. I never thought it would be this easy. Every meal I'm eating white rice with or without chicken and vegetables. 1 gram of white rice is 1 calorie. 100g of white rice is quite a big plate. Basically rice takes up more space on a plate, for its weight, than the equivalent for many carbs. It's also really easy to digest.

Ever wondered why so many Thai, Indian, Chinese people are thin? It's because they're eating more white rice than bread, pasta and potatoes. 

1g of the healthiest bread, a sourdough, contains 3g of calories.

1g of spaghetti contains 2g of calories.

1g of potato contains only 1g of calories but potatoes are hard to digest.

But even better than the weight loss is I feel less stressed and anxious. Ever noticed a lot of Thai people seem laidback? Maybe it's the white rice. Note: Brown rice is harder to digest because it contains anti-nutrients that evolved in the rice grain to protect itself from being eaten by predators. White rice is brown rice that has had its husk, bran and germ removed.

Most athletes eat white rice as it's great fuel for physical activity. 

If you put a piece of bread on a plate weighing 100g it won't fill your plate much at all. 100g of white rice will. And while 100g of pasta will fill a plate it won't digest as easily as white rice.

How is it that some Indians are able to run along pulling a rickshaw with their hands, no horse, no car, pulling people along in it? Could it be the white rice?

 

  • here is summary of fibre and vitamin differences in white and brown rice

    pediaa.com/.../

  • brown rice will have more vitamins and fibre

  • Some gross stereotypes of Asians there, to be honest. And Indians are some of the least healthy people in my intimate knowledge and experience; all that ghee/butter and heavy refined carbs doesn't help. It's part of the reason why so many Indians have heart problems and diabetes.

    I also don't think white rice is the silver bullet either; it's the lack of refined sugar in diets that make a much bigger difference. Sugar is known to be the biggest factor when it comes to weight gain and the general obesity epidemic in the west. For so long fats were vilified, but we have since learned that the sugar industry deliberately paid for skewed research which suggested fats were to blame, when certain fats are vital to heart health, healthy joints, brain function, etc.

    As for stuffing one's plate with white rice, why not use wholemeal rice as it's a lower GI food that - as you point out - takes longer to digest? Wholemeal food is healthier *because* the grain hasn't been refined, so your theory doesn't hold water there. Or even better, eat vegetables? There are many low calorie alternatives to white rice which I think are preferable. The general approach to substituting a higher calorie food to something that is lower calorie is just common sense, surely? Ultimately, we know the body cannot function without protein and fats, but it can without carbs, so I know what I'd cut out if I had to lose weight.

    In case you're wondering, I'm an Indian gentleman with a fairly extensive background in fitness and nutrition...

  • This rather generalising  BBC science video is worthy of some attention, in as much as it confirms that there is mounting evidence that DNA does not automatically determine one's fate. Epigeneticists indicate that minds have the ability to dim (or brighten) the effects of certain genes. I just noted that this vid puts a lot of emphasis on diet and moderate exercise playing a role in suppressing inflammation, with the level of contentment also being very significant. They specifically mention the positive role of meditation. Well, I don't really mind what label they choose to give to heightened levels of concentration and awareness. It also talks about also finding medications that can act as switches. But from that, it isn't hard to imagine that some dietary items might have similar effects.

    www.bbc.co.uk/.../your-dna-is-not-your-destiny

  • Now obviously it can be a bit worrying about where your weight loss is going at my particular age. But my weight has stabilised over the last two years, my appetite is really excellent and I do feel better generally. So perhaps it is best to just enjoy it while it lasts. And that doesn't seem to be too difficult. And having retired, I'm really enjoying getting back into the sort of physical outdoor work and skills of when I first started my career.

    It might seem a bit pretentious to say that self-hypnosis helped immensely, but I note that some educationalists are beginning to perceive the learning process as a form of trance. And it's not as if you necessarily have to constantly punish yourself to achieve results, as the subconscious often seems to be quite capable of running modified lifestyle regimes without constant conscious input.

    I've always liked walking and cycling, but have long avoided anything to do with running.  Why would i want to run through an environment that I want to enjoy and better understand? I largely avoid the competitive side of sports, even though there are some that I enjoy spectating. But I reckon I partly make up for that by being quite competitive about physical work tasks. And frequently weighing yourself can actually be a good motivational and feedback mechanism.

    My current pet nutritional peeve is such delivery services of Grab and Food Panda. Sure it is helping to keep the fast food industry alive during and after lockdown, but people are becoming more and more divorced from their own natural ability to produce their own tasty, nutritious and inexpensive food.

  • I had it that eating brown rice was preferable because it's harder to digest.  I guess the logic being that someone whose stomach is empty faster would be more likely to snack between meals.  Besides that it's a bugger to cook, 30 mins+ vs 10 or so for white rice.

  • Wow, that's a big drop. Keep it up! I get the bony annoyance too. Truth is not many Europeans eat much rice, it's mostly an Asian and Arab thing and the odd African or South American country. The majority of Europe are wedded to bread. I wish we had bakeries here like the French ones with strict rules on how bread is made, as at least then people would be eating the good stuff.

  • That's a shame the people are getting heavier with fast food and sugar drunks. Hopefully they'll resist becoming like America. Sounds like you have a pretty good eating system. I agree with avoiding salty things where possible. The limes or vinegar will give you acidity which is a good layer of flavour to have.

  • I applaud you cutting out the bread, potatoes and sugar - all a massive strain on the body in my experience. True, we do tend overeat and drink in the west. I think pasta is still reasonably healthy. It's not as moreish as bread and you'll just eat what you cook. With bread, pastries etc. the danger is you keep going back for more pickings. 

  • I'm on a weight loss thing too - I've given up most chocolate & cakes and I'm missing out lunch on most days while doing lots of activity - I've lost 11kg in 3 months - almost 2 stones!    (97 --> 86kg)

    I don't often eat rice - only with a Chinese meal and they're pretty fattening with all the tasty sauces.  Smiley

    The only real problem is I feel bony where the fat has gone - especially things like knees resting on each other when I'm in bed. 

  • Well, I am actually in one of the locations you mention. Overall, I agree with your idea from my own experience; but we differ a bit.

    I lost about 15 kilos over the space of about 3 years, eating wholegrain rice, or white & wholegrain mixed. And I wasn't massively overweight before. I also like wholemeal spaghetti and noodles. My diet has been mostly local (very spicy) food and rice for decades. I still eat wholemeal bread, as well. I eat lots of veg grown in our own garden, plus various forms of tofu. I still eat some meat. Quite a lot of dairy products and eggs. Things like cheese, beer, butter and margarine I have mostly given up on, but reserve the right to enjoy them for pleasure occasionally. I personally think the best thing to do is drop fast food and soft drink. No cakes, crackers and biscuits, usually. I tend to avoid chicken cos locally it is often full of things like growth promoters and antibiotics. Beef is difficult to digest in a hot climate. Farmed shrimp gives me allergies, and is also stuffed with antibiotics etc. I like locally-grown potatoes but mostly avoid them now. I avoid sugar added to food and drinks, and much prefer fruit without sugar scattered over it. I love sour fruit. I hear that there is some research now going on into the role chilli peppers seem to play in staving off such things as deep vein thrombosis. It's less prevalent in this region. Avoid monosodium glutamate and salty cooking condiments. I prefer to add limes, rice vinegar, pineapple vinegar or even cider vinegar anyway.

    As to my family here, they have also got the wholegrain rice habit. Like me, they now find it more filling, tastier and easy on the digestive tract. And we buy it direct from  local farmers at market basically. In supermarkets, it tends to be a bit expensive, but there is an increasing trend for local people to buy it anyway. Traditionally, it was fed mostly to farm animals and prisoners, but people began to notice that those two managed on it rather well. It was looked down on before, but that is changing.

    But actually, overweight is an increasing problem here, and it's definitely related to fast-food, snacks, candy, too much sugar in food and over-sweetened drinks; and abandoning traditional foods. And more sedentary lifestyles. (Rickshaw pulling is probably now more common in the UK than it it is here. ;-) I also wouldn't use the expression laidback here much these days. So-called 'development' is really quite a mixed blessing, both here and in the UK.

    As to your idea about wholegrains having some natural insecticides, there might be something in that, but perhaps all it does to a human consumer is keep the stool somewhat looser, which seems to be something that locals think is good for them. In any case, you will always find some insects on wholegrains bought off low-chemical use farms. That just tends to indicate that it is highly edible. And the quickest way to remove the insects is to put it out on a tray to dry in the abundant sun.

  • I cut out bread, potatoes,  sugar and eat less dark meat 2 years ago , best thing i have ever done but never thought of using rice instead of pasta .

    Not sure if its the white rice alone that gives them the energy to haul along a laden rickshaw but most people in the west overeat & drink from my experience