Is white rice bad for you? PRANA says as bad as white sugar! Read why South Asians should pay attention
Now, who doesn’t like to sit down to a yummy plate of steaming, fresh white rice? With daal, with curries; biryani or pulao perhaps? For a lot of South Asians, across all parts of the culture, white rice is truly soul food. Today’s wisdom, however, dictates that the soul food of our past may be the thing we avoid in our future. PRANA (Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s South Asian wing) says:
“Sugar is the building block of carbohydrates. Since rice and grains are a rich source of carbohydrates, they are also a rich source of sugar. So, South Asians have quite the sweet tooth! White rice and breads are staple foods in the traditional South Asian diet, and eating uncontrolled portions often contributes to weight gain and associated health conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Eating healthier varieties of carbohydrates can help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes by lowering cholesterol levels, blood pressure, blood sugar and blood clots. Read about which carbohydrates to avoid and which to encourage for a heart-healthy diet.
LIMIT…
- refined grains – these are grains that have been processed and modified from their natural form. Often they have lost nutritional value along the way. They may taste sweeter, but are less filling and worsen blood sugar. These include white rice and white flour – stay away!
- rinsing your grains – If you do need to eat white rice occasionally, do not rinse your grains. Rinsing removes the enriched vitamins!
- Starches that have been fried or prepared with generous amounts of oil:
- Vada, samosa, paratha, sev, pakora, laddoo, plantain chips, namkeen or chevda mix, puri, kachori, motichoor, laddu/ladoo
- Starches that have been prepared with generous amounts of sugar:
- Halwa, gulabjammun, cookies, cake, puddings, jalebi, pheerni, burfi, ras malai, imarti
- Sugary beverages: juice, soda, sweet lassi, sweet tea or coffee
- Coconut water (juice from a young coconut) is highly nutritious but high in sugar too. Limit if diabetic or watching weight.
- Items made with white rice or white rice flour:Idli, dosa
ENCOURAGE…
- Healthier substitutions for white rice –
- cracked wheat, whole wheat couscous, barley, quinoa, millet or amaranth.
- Whole grain products that are refined (made from flours) but nutritious:
- Whole wheat chapatti or roti, besan pancakes, whole wheat bread or pasta, whole grain crackers
- Unrefined (healthy) grains! – List of healthy (unrefined) carbohydrates
- Fruit as a dessert and snack every day:
- Small-sized fruit the size of a tennis ball or about 4 oz total weight
- Low-sugar versions of favorite recipes using sugar substitutes.
- Generous portions of non-starchy vegetables:
- Cauliflower, green beans, peppers/capsicum, greens, broccoli, carrots, celery, summer squash (thin skinned), tomatoes, onion, cabbage, karela, etc.”
Now, the AmaraMoms don’t believe in totally giving up something as integral to our culture and food as rice, but the idea behind this is to develop an awareness about the downside of pure starches, learn ways to limit them in your diet, and replace them with whole grains and complex carbohydrates like brown rice, that is actually super tasty. Bon apetit!
