Does Rice Make You Fat? Myth And Facts About Rice

Rice is a widely consumed grain across the world. Available in different varieties, rice goes well with many dishes. Cooked in a variety of ways, rice is a staple food in many regions. Rice is largely available in two varieties – Brown Rice and White Rice.

While brown rice is considered healthier, white rice is often associated with obesity due to the high carbs in it. But there are many weight-loss diets that include rice. ‘

Hence, there is a question – Is rice fattening or aids weight loss? If you are also wondering, if you should continue eating right or quit rice to stay healthy, this article is for you.

Let us consider various aspects of rice as follows:

About Rice

Rice is a cereal grain that is a staple food in many countries. Brown rice and white rice are the most popular variety of rice. There are three major components of which rice is composed:

Endosperm: The part of rice which mainly contains starch (carb) and a small amount of protein. It is the most significant part of a rice grain

Bran: It is the outermost layer of rich, which contains antioxidants, fiber, and minerals. It is a rough layer that protects the seed within the rice.

Germ: It is a nutrient-rich layer of rice that contains minerals, carbs, vitamins, fat, antioxidants, protein, and other vital plant compounds.

Brown Rice Vs. White Rice

While brown rice is nutrient-rich rice with the presence of all three layers, white rice consists of endosperm only. Bran and germ layer in white rice is stripped off to enhance its taste, cooking qualities, and shelf life.

Does Rice Make You Fat

Hence, Brown rice is nutritious and contains higher fiber and antioxidants. Most white rice is made up of starch and carbohydrates. The long chains of glucose present in white rice are generally referred to as amylopectin and amylose.

Depending upon the starch level, different varieties of white rice have different digestive levels and textures. The various starch composition has different impact on health.

In general, brown rice is high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, as there is nothing stripped of them.

Does Rice Make You fat?

As brown rice constitutes whole grain, they are significant as food for people aiming at weight loss. But white rice is nothing, just full of starch, and hence not recommended if you are on your weight loss journey.

Like other whole grains, brown rice consists of nutrients, fiber, and plant components, which results in fullness and attributes to lower calories.

A study revealed that the women who source their major dietary requirements from whole grain food are less likely to gain weight by 50% than the women who don’t.

Switching over from white rice to brown rice contributes to weight loss as it leads to cutting in the carbs and replacing them with proteins, fiber, and other vital nutrients resulting in weight loss.

However, the studies regarding the link between white rice and weight gain are not fully established. Hence, we can conclude that brown rice is more advantageous to include in your diet as compared to white rice due to its higher nutritional content.

Myths associated with White rice

White rice, when included in a balanced whole wheat diet in a controlled portion, does not lead to weight gain. Traditionally, rice is eaten together with pulses or gravy.

The right proportion of rice and the addition of ghee along with wholesome combinations avoid weight gain.

When you add a dollop of ghee to your dal rice, it slows down the sugar breakdown, which results in a marked increase in blood sugar.

The combination of dal and rice complements each other as the amino acids present in cereals compensate for the lack of nutrients in pulses.

So, how does rice makes you fat? When you eat a chappati, regulating the portion size is easy by restricting it to 2, but the adjusting portion size of rice is comparatively difficult. But you can avoid weight loss by avoiding the extra portions of rice in your diet.

However, the delightful taste of rice always tempts you to eat more.

White Rice – Center of a Famous Weight Loss Program

Rice Diet is a popular ultra-low-fat diet that was developed in 1939 to treat kidney and high blood pressure diseases. Sugar, white rice, fruit juice, and fruit were the major components of this diet, making it completely tasteless.

As it was a very low-fat and low-calorie diet; thus, the inclusion of white rice results in weight loss is not established with this diet plan.

However, it proves that white rice can be included in a weight loss diet plan with a restricted quantity.

Are carbohydrates fattening – Truth about Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the sugars that quickly break down in your body to release energy. As rice is high in carbs, it fuels your body by breaking down fast.

It also floods your bloodstream with higher sugar levels. The sugar which remains unprocessed becomes fat.

Hence, if you consume a limited amount of starch that can be burnt with your activities throughout the day, the intake of carbohydrates will not result in weight gain.

If Portions are Uncontrolled, Any Food Can be Fattening

As most foods contain some vital nutrients or others, which are essential for our body functioning, the benefits of intake largely depend on the portions of these foods we include in our diet.

As white rice is high in the carb it does not establish as fattening, if rice is included in the controlled portions or servings.

A large intake or larger servings of food leads to higher calories. If one meal includes a more significant portion of meals, the next should be compensated with a lesser food intake to regulate the whole calorie intake for a specific day.

By reducing the serving size, you cut down the calorie intake, which results in weight loss.

Make a Healthier Choice – Brown Rice

Brown rice takes more time to cook due to its extra cover full of nutrients. With higher nutritional content, brown rice is a preferred choice over white rice, which is composed of carbohydrates mainly.

Higher stickiness in white rice implies higher levels of starch. White rice is only preferred in the context of taste. You can also choose single-polished rice, which bears less nutritional loss as compared to double-polished white rice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Rice cause belly fat?

The researches prove that weight gain is associated with the kind of carbs you consume. If you consume more processed food such as white bread, white pasta, or white rice, it leads to belly fat. Hence, you can include brown rice in your diet to avoid belly fat.

Can I lose weight by eating rice?

Rice is a gluten-free grain that is easily digestible and low in fat. any weight loss is directly associated with the calorie deficit. Take into account the calorie intake by including rice in your diet and focus on burning more calories than you consume to achieve weight loss.

Is rice better than bread?

Compared to rice, bread makes you feel fuller for a longer time. While white rice is majorly constituted of carbs, brown rice is considerably due to higher fiber. As bread contain more protein than rice, it also improves your metabolism.

Is rice a bad carb?

white rice is processed over brown rice and loses some of its important nutrients during the process of refining. However, brown rice is a source of complex carbs which do not increase your blood sugar instantly.

Is rice better than pasta?

Yes, rice has much lower carbs as compared to pasta. If you are following a calorie-controlled diet, it is highly recommended to choose rice over pasta.

Conclusion

Different studies show the link between rice to weight gain or weight loss. When it comes to the comparison between brown rice and white rice, brown rice is more nutritious and full of fiber. But white rice offers an enhanced taste. If you are sensitive to blood sugar levels, non-sticky rice is highly recommended due to its lesser starch. But your portion size plays a decisive role if the rice makes you fat or not. I hope you liked the post Does Rice Make You Fat? Do not forget to share it with your friends and family.

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