Sadly I find I am alone in my 'I hate white rice club'
Even my significant other prefers white rice (insert gasp here) as do most people in both of our families. I have heard every argument known to man as to why I need to drop my efforts to end the the white rice insanity. Instead of lashing out and alienating everyone on family occasions I usually just embrace my spiritual philosophy and say "If that's what you believe then you are right to." I really don't believe this, I'm just saying it (concerning rice, not spirituality btw).
After all it's not my job/passion/hobby to know about this stuff is it?
Yea, about that...
So no matter which camp of the rice-wars you belong to here is what is going on in my head while you are making your argument:
What I hear: "It's the exact same thing!"
My thought bubble: Ummm WRONG! While white rice and brown rice have basically the same amount of carbs, calories, and calcium, Brown rice provides FOUR times as much fiber and protein. In fact substituting white rice with any whole grains, including brown rice, protects your heart from cardiovascular disease, thanks to a compound found in the outer layers (called the bran layer) of the grain that is removed to make white rice (what gives it the pearly white color) along with some other awesome vitamins and nutrients. You are going to give up of that because you like your rice white?
What I hear: "Asian culture is built on eating white rice and they are the healthiest people on the planet!"
My thought bubble: Huh?!?! Regular consumption of white rice leads to development of type 2 diabetes and certain forms of stroke. According to a 2011 study published in the British Medical Journal researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed four previous studies involving Asian (China and Japan) and Western countries (the United States and Australia) on the link between eating white rice and the risk of type 2 diabetes. They analyzed whether this risk is dependent on the amount of rice consumed and if the association is stronger for the Asian population. All of the participants were diabetes-free when these studies began. They found that the more white rice a person eats the higher his/her risk of type 2 diabetes. What's more, it's estimated that the odds increase by 10 percent with each additional serving (and who eats less then a cup of rice per serving when not paying super attention?).
What I hear: Come on, is it really thaaaat bad for you?"
My thought bubble: Well, no. If you could care less about getting a vital amount of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from the food you put in your body and prefer empty starch/carbs to slow-digesting-your-body-needs-this-to-be-its-best whole grains then no, white rice isn't that bad for you. While it's not exactly eating a tub of full-fat ice-cream or smoking a pack of cigarettes, white rice is technically a processed food and if you say you care about your body and avoid processed foods then you have to kick that white rice to the curb! If you take the extra time to put stevia in your coffee, chew sugar-free gum and eat something green at almost every meal, take the next step and swear off anything besides 'whole' when it comes to your grains!
From my head to your eyeballs,
I believe in you
xoxo
T
P.S. stay away from the regular soy sauce. Don't even get me started.
