The human body was never meant to consume
rice! You see, our genes have
hardly changed in more than 30,000 years.
However, our food choices and
lifestyle have changed dramatically. The caveman
would hardly recognize our
food or way of life.
Caveman food was never cooked as fire was not
yet tamed. Thus, he ate only
those foods that you can eat without treatment
with or by fire. He ate
fruits, vegetables, fish (sushi anyone?), eggs, nuts
and meat. Yes, even
meat. You can even eat meat raw if you were
starving in the forest. You
have the necessary enzymes to digest meat.
However, rice, like wheat and corn, cannot be
eaten raw. It must be cooked.
Even if you were starving in the desert, you cannot
eat rice in the raw
form. This is because we do not have the system
of enzymes to break rice
down. You were never meant to eat rice. To make
matters worse, you not only
eat rice, but also make it the bulk of your food.
In some parts of Asia, rice forms up to 85% of the
plate. Even if you take
rice, keep it to a minimum. Remember, it is only
for your tongue - not your
body. Actually, rice and other grains like wheat
and corn are actually
worse than sugar. There are many reasons:
Rice becomes sugar - lots of it
This is a fact that no nutritionist can deny: rice is
chemically no
different from sugar. One bowl of cooked rice is the
caloric equal of 10
teaspoons of sugar. This does not matter whether
it is white, brown or
herbal rice. Brown rice is richer in fibre, some B
vitamins and minerals
but it is still the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of
sugar. To get the same
10 teaspoons of sugar, you need to consume lots
of kangkong - 10 bowls of
it.
Rice is digested to become sugar.
Rice cannot be digested before it is thoroughly
cooked. However, when
thoroughly cooked, it becomes sugar and spikes
circulating blood sugar
within half an hour - almost as quickly as it would if
you took a sugar
candy. Rice is very low in the "rainbow of anti-
oxidants"
This complete anti-oxidant rainbow is necessary
for the effective and safe
utilisation of sugar. Fruits come with a sugar called
fructose. However,
they are not empty calories as the fruit is packed
with a whole host of
other nutrients that help its proper assimilation and
digestion.
Rice has no fibre. The fibre of the kangkong fills
you up long before your
blood sugar spikes. This is because the fibre bulks
and fills up your
stomach. Since white rice has no fibre, you end up
eating lots of "calorie
dense" food before you get filled up. Brown rice
has more fibre but still
the same amount of sugar.
Rice is tasteless - Sugar is sweet. There is only
so much that you can eat
at one sitting. How many teaspoons of sugar can
you eat before you feel
like throwing up? Could you imagine eating 10
teaspoons of sugar in one
seating?
Rice is always the main part of the meal - While
sugar may fill your
dessert or sweeten your coffee, it will never be the
main part of any meal.
You could eat maybe two to three teaspoons of
sugar at one meal. However,
you could easily eat the equal value of two to three
bowls (20 - 30
teaspoons) of sugar in one meal. I am always
amused when I see someone eat
sometimes five bowls of rice (equals 50 teaspoons
of sugar) and then asks
for tea tarik kurang manis!
There is no real "built in" mechanism for us to
prevent overeating of rice
How much kangkong can you eat? How much fried
chicken can you eat? How much
steamed fish can you eat? Think about that! In one
seating, you cannot take
lots of chicken, fish or cucumber, but you can take
lots of rice. Eating
rice causes you to eat more salt.
As rice is tasteless, you tend to consume more
salt - another villain when
it comes to high blood pressure. You tend to take
more curry that has salt
to help flavor rice. We also tend to consume more
ketchup and soy sauce
which are also rich in salt.
Eating rice causes you to drink less water. The
more rice you eat, the less
water you will drink as there is no mechanism to
prevent the overeating of
rice. Rice, wheat and corn come hidden in our
daily food. As rice is
tasteless, it tends to end up in other foods that
substitute rice like rice
flour, noodles and bread. We tend to eat the
hidden forms which still get
digested into sugar. Rice, even when cooked, is
difficult to digest
Can't eat raw rice? Try eating rice half cooked.
Contrary to popular
belief, rice is very difficult to digest. It is "heavy
stuff". If you have
problems with digestion, try skipping rice for a few
days. You will be
amazed at how the problem will just go away.
Rice prevents the absorption of several vitamins
and minerals. Rice when
taken in bulk will reduce the absorption of vital
nutrients like zinc, iron
and the B vitamins.
Are you a rice addict? Going rice-less may not be
easy but you can go
rice-less. Eating less rice could be lot easier than
you think. Here are
some strategies that you can pursue in your quest
to eat less rice:
Eat less rice - Cut your rice by half. Barry Sears,
author of the Zone
Diet, advises "eating rice like spice".
Instead, increase your fruits and vegetables.
Take more lean meats and fish.
You can even take more eggs and nuts.
Have "riceless" meals. Take no rice or wheat at
say, breakfast. Go for eggs
instead.
Go on "riceless" days - Go "western" once a week.
Take no rice and breads for one day every week.
That can't be too
difficult. Appreciate the richness of your food. Go
for taste, colors and
smells. Make eating a culinary delight. Enjoy your
food in the original
flavors.
Avoid the salt shaker or ketchup. You will
automatically eat less rice.
Eat your fruit dessert before (Yes! No printing error)
your meals.
The fibre rich fruits will "bulk up" in your stomach.
Thus, you will eat
less rice and more fruits.
