Let’s talk about rice.
Should you eat it? What kind? Is it healthy?
First things first – there is so much, often contradicting, information surrounding what foods you should or shouldn’t eat and whether they are healthy for you or not. Rice is no different. As with all foods, what is ‘healthy’ for one person may not be for another so take the time to figure out what works for you.
Rice tends to get a bad reputation because it is a carbohydrate. But carbs aren’t all bad, they’re your bodies main source of fuel after all! Plus, rice is a great source of vitamins and minerals while being a low allergenic grain, meaning that it is suitable for almost everyone to eat.
Rice is broad term, there are so many different types! Often which type you should be eating depends on what you are cooking, as certain dishes call for particular types of rice.
Let’s unpack the two most common types of rice here, white rice and brown rice. The biggest difference here is that white rice is a refined carbohydrate and brown rice is a whole grain.
Brown rice has three different aspects - the germ, bran and embryo. The bran and germ give brown rice fibre content, which allows it to be digested more slowly, and a natural nutrient profile.
White rice has had the bran and germ removed and has typically been re-fortified, meaning it is processed and does not contain natural nutrients. This does not necessarily mean that white rice is nutritionally void! However, if you can, switching white rice for brown rice is a simple substitute that will ensure you are getting the maximum nutritional benefit from your rice intake.
If you still aren’t convinced you could always try cauliflower rice, the low carb rice alternative taking the world by storm. This is simply cauliflower chopped or blitzed into small, rice sized, pieces. Read more about the benefits of cauliflower here.
