Curious of guys’ thoughts on this perspective: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourlatinanutritionist/video/7239853217872432426
Her points throughout her videos basically boil down to:
1. There’s pretty much no traditional cultures that ate brown rice, and eating brown rice is a relatively new thing in the West (mostly because brown rice doesn’t keep for very long compared to white)
2. There’s barely any nutritional difference between white and brown rice (1 gram of fiber per serving and some small differences in micronutrients), and there’s a lot more impact from what you pair the rice with like beans, vegetables, etc.
3. Most people prefer white rice to brown rice, and given the marginal difference in nutrition, it’s better to recommend foods that people enjoy more and are more accustomed to, while advocating for using it as a vehicle for other nutritious and high-fiber foods.
by DiscountConsistent
11 Comments
I prefer brown rice because it has more fiber than white rice. One cup of brown rice contains 3.5 g of fiber. One cup of white rice has 0.6 g of fiber.
If the choice is between white rice and brown rice, then yeah it doesn’t really make a big difference except potentially in enjoyment. There are health pros and cons to both, so pick whichever you prefer. (If you’re eating a large quantity maybe the fiber differences will be worth it, otherwise it’s pretty negligible)
If other grains are an option, then I’d opt for those instead or make a mixture of rice and grains
I basically agree. I’ve always been into “medterrasian” – if you’re eating a food in the context of a blue zone traditional diet, you have nothing to worry about. Note that this would be eating all the traditional foods in a given diet in the proportions and combinations traditionally consumed. Things like fried white rice fit into my diet, but that’s not how I’m exclusively consuming carbs, or all I’m eating 7 days a week lol hopefully the distinction makes sense. 🙂
It’s overall really hard for me to look at white rice as a problem when it’s a staple of billions of people with very healthy traditional diets. I agree that it’s about how you eat it/what else you eat.
#3 is an understated part of nutrition advice. I am Iranian-American and grew up eating white rice often, and I really don’t enjoy brown rice. I would rather eat a healthy stew with a small amount of white rice than any amount of brown rice. It would be pretty unnecessary to harp on this one nutritional habit given the points in #1 and #2. I would rather eliminate certain other starches from my diet than worry about eating brown rice over white rice. But when I first started trying to eat healthy I would buy brown rice because of diet culture and it would sit in my cupboard for years.
Of course eat what you’d like, but I eat white rice. As stated in #2, the nutritional differences aren’t major, plus you’re getting nutrients from everything else you’re eating with the rice. Also, white rice cooks quicker – I like brown rice but usually by the time I’m cooking a meal after a long day, I don’t want to spend a ton of time cooking.
I stopped reading after “TikTok Dietitian”
To me this is simple. I buy brown rice for the house. I like it. If I an at a restaurant and they only have white rice I eat it and don’t stress about it. If they offer a choice I get brown.
If your proportions are set up properly it’s unlikely to matter. Same reason you can get away with regular pasta. Should you have a giant bowl of pasta smothered in cream based sauce? No.
But if you have a portion of pasta as part of your meal you’re probably fine.
I just made myself a burrito. Had maybe 1/8 cup of rice in it. I’m not super stressed about whether it is white or brown. Now, if I sat down and was eating a giant bowl of rice for dinner? Well, I probably wouldn’t do that but if I had to for some reason I’d probably go with brown just because it has less of a dramatic effect on my blood sugar.
That’s interesting. I was debating something similar, as I’m trying to eat more brown rice, but my family is pushing back as they don’t like the taste (even high-quality versions) vis-a-vis white rice.
I did read as an aside, and I’m unsure if this is still the case, the brown rice may carry the risk of slightly higher levels of arsenic?
Completely agree. It’s what my registered dietician told me as well.
If you’re eating your white rice with beans or legumes and greens really doesn’t matter that much with fiber. If your sole reason is because you eat so much rice that brown would make a difference then it may matter but what matters more is eating a variety of grains. Not to mention brown rice contains more arsenic than white