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White rice is killing you


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  • #1854944
    John Nausieda
    BPL Member

    @meander

    Locale: PNW

    Tom you are right about the centrality of rice to at least the Chinese. In fact , it is common to politely greet someone with the question "Have you had rice?". And I remember a woman in Weifang which is a bit remote remarking to us after we ordered Kung Pao Chicken six years ago -" We don't eat alot of meat around here". But when we were in Shanghai around Christmas looking for a Western bathroom near the train station we discovered that there were six McDonalds all within about 200 feet of each other.Things do change.

    #1854966
    Tim Zen
    Spectator

    @asdzxc57

    Locale: MI

    First red meat now white rice. What is the obsession with death foods? Next are sugar beets. Nothing worse that being hit by a truck carrying a load of sugar beets in the Thumb. Deer kill a lot of people too.

    #1854970
    Brian UL
    Member

    @maynard76

    Locale: New England

    The media know the population is sick and unhealthy. They know they can make money selling ad time if they declare food xyz to be deadly or a miracle cure. The trick is it has to be a generalized traditional food and not a store brand. If they declare a miracle cure food a business can spring up selling supplements. Those businesses in turn can buy ad space. If they declare some traditional food as deadly special interests groups will promote it tirelessly ( free publicity ) and readership will rise. So once again as in everything in life you only need to follow the money.

    #1854982
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "I remember reading they grew rice for the upper classes not for them selves. I need to find it again."

    Where rice is grown, everybody eats it. However, it gets a little more complicated than my original statement, because in the drier regions of Asia, wheat based carbohydrates predominate, with rice playing a secondary role. The opposite also holds true, ie where rice predominates wheat based carb dishes are also eaten.

    "The amount may differ country to country, but the fact remains they eat a LOT less sugars and processed food ( thats changing ) and since their diet is full of good meats,fats,and veggies the rice is not going to undermine that especially since rice is not really much of a problem health wise anyway."

    100% agree.

    #1854984
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "In all seriousness what foods are totally non-controversial?"

    Apple pie?

    #1854989
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "Tom you are right about the centrality of rice to at least the Chinese. "

    And also Southern India, Bangladesh, West Bengal, Orissa, and the smaller states of Northeast India, Indonesia, all of SE Asia, The Philippines, Japan, and Korea.

    "In fact , it is common to politely greet someone with the question "Have you had rice?".

    That applies to Thailand and Cambodia as well, that I know of.

    "Things do change."

    Indeed they do. McDonalds has even gotten its foot in the door in India, although they had to switch from beef for their burgers.

    #1854992
    W I S N E R !
    Spectator

    @xnomanx

    #1854994
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    ROTFL! Leave it to Craig to inject a note of levity at just the right time. ;)

    #1855033
    Sarah Kirkconnell
    BPL Member

    @sarbar

    Locale: Homesteading On An Island In The PNW

    I hated brown rice until I found Alton Brown's method. Now we eat nearly all brown – and I was always a white rice fan ;-)

    2 1/2 cups boiling water
    1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice
    1/4 tsp salt
    1 Tbsp EVOO, if desired

    Preheat oven to 375. Add everything to an 8×8" glass baking dish, cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Fluff up and serve.

    Serves 3-4.

    It is simply great!!

    #1855242
    Jeanine Taylor
    BPL Member

    @jetaylor

    Locale: Oregon

    I had to google EVOO.
    Extra virgin olive oil.

    #1855262
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    +1 to Alton Brown – entertaining and educational

    He looks too skinny though, I hope he doesn't have some health problem.

    #1855333
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    It's glycemic index. That's simple enough. If white rice were particularly evil, I would have contracted type 2 diabetes as a teenager when I'd have heaping plates of short grain white rice every day. I love the stuff. Love it. I'm not as crazy about the newer longer grained less sticky white rice that's usually found on store shelves.

    #1855462
    j p
    Member

    @johnnythunder

    i can only comment on my experience eating with korean children and adults in my elementary school and other social settings.

    speaking specifically about korea, this issue is too complex to be tied exclusively to one food item. a number of things lead to the growing epidemic of obesity and poor diet which i observe among the children i teach. but i would definitely consider the amount of white rice to be a major reason behind this along with such factors as an almost universal use of baby formula during the first few days after birth, the recent introduction of western-style eating and junk food, and a general increase in portion sizes of all meals. oh, and computer games are a professional sport complete with amateur feeder leagues and private institutes hell bent on turning your child into the bobby fischer of starcraft.

    koreans eat rice as third or final course. they tend to not view a meal as complete until they've eaten their bowl of rice and will often consume meat and sauteed or fermented vegetables before rice. this is probably the main cause behind korea having the highest rate of stomach cancer in developed nations (but that's another egg to scramble). so, since they're eating the rice as part of a complete meal i don't necessarily see how the rice's glycemic index would overpower that of the meat and high-fiber vegetables. maybe i'm wrong but that's just how i view it.

    what i think is at play here is that people are getting diabetes in higher proportion because they eat a less balanced diet. if you add more simple carbs in the form of rice you're probably eliminating a lot of the slow burning energy one might find in protein and vegetables. in korea produce and meat is ridiculously expensive by western standards. so families with kids are going to be more likely to look to the cheap calories in rice to provide most of the sustenance for their children.

    #1855468
    Sarah Kirkconnell
    BPL Member

    @sarbar

    Locale: Homesteading On An Island In The PNW

    If formula was the reason behind obesity all my kids would be fat, they are not. I know many try to tie it in but I have seen just as many porker babies who were breast fed as I have tubby bottle fed babies.

    #1855491
    j p
    Member

    @johnnythunder

    right. i don't think that necessarily one thing is the prime cause here. you were probably given very specific information from your doctor on how to regulate the proper caloric intake for your children and that, more than the type of sustenance they were receiving, lead to their proper health. round here that information is far less common and/or understood. hungry baby=fed baby. mix as directed by the label. end result can be an overweight toddler.

    in korea (and many of the other developing asian nations. read: those not called japan) the knowledge of modern advances in medicine hasn't caught yet up with the actual advanced medicine available. so there's this "wisdom" in korea that if one of something is good then 3 of something would be better.

    for example: i get respiratory illness here because of the yellow dust and increased air pollution (and also probably b/c i hang out with 1200 booger miners for 40 hours a week). my "normal" treatment in korea has been upwards of 20 pills a day…until i eventually walked into the doctor and demanded the inhaler and prednisone which had worked for me in the past.

    anyway, that's all a long winded explaination in which i basically wanted to say that your children are probably more healthy by virtue of you being a conscientious and informed parent in a society where individuals are empowered to make their own health choices than any one food decision you could make for them. and that the formula example was meant to illustrate that new technology used the wrong way can have a negative outcome (which is at least what i've observed in my time with korean children).

    #1855545
    Sarah Kirkconnell
    BPL Member

    @sarbar

    Locale: Homesteading On An Island In The PNW

    Actually our pediatrician feels that one should feed the baby as they are hungry – follow their cues. Once they are full (turning of the head, closing mouth) you quit feeding. A chubby baby doesn't mean an overweight toddler though. My 3rd baby was born on Feb. 8th and weighed nearly 10 lbs 7 ounces at birth. His sheer size means he consumes more food than a smaller baby. I wouldn't restrict his calorie intake though!! That could easily affect his future height potential, his brain growth and much more – such as reaching milestones in the first year. They key rather is to encourage movement – tummy play, then crawling and being active as a toddler. Not just having them lay or sitting around when old enough to move.
    Formula gets a lot of bad rep these days but it has a place when a woman cannot BF (I cannot due to medical issues). What it does is shame mothers when no shame should exist. Sure it is great if a woman can and she does it for at least the first year but it doesn't always happen.

    PS: I'd say the obesity has more to do with being inside in school all day – how much play time do these kids get? And that pesky Western diet doesn't help either.

    #1855589
    Rick Horne
    BPL Member

    @rick778

    Locale: NorCal - South Bay - Campbell

    Brian wrote:

    "The problem is that the germ is where the rice and other grains store their defensive toxins. So you either eat it with the defensive shell removed or you ingest massive amounts of toxins designed to damage your stomachs lining and prevent its nutrition from being bio available. It may be better to eat white rice with lots of veggies and meat. At least rice is gluten free."

    I always thought the whole grain was much better for you! Never heard the comment about the "germ" storing toxins and being bad for you.

    #1855651
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "I always thought the whole grain was much better for you!"

    Apparently at least the people who put this article together do, too. They are not a primary source, but cite a lot of studies from reputable organizations. Worth a read, IMO.

    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=128

    "Never heard the comment about the "germ" storing toxins and being bad for you."

    Neither have lots of the rest of us otherwise healthy brown rice eaters. Color me dubious.

    #1855712
    j p
    Member

    @johnnythunder

    regarding exercise: not a whole lot. there is the lunch/recess hour just like in american schools and they do have a dedicated physical education teacher (not one who is split between multiple schools…quickly becoming the norm back home). but, korea is becoming increasingly notorious for after-hours education and high academic pressure. i go to a kick boxing school every night for 2 hours…absolute commitment to one endeavor is a very korean trait. so it's sort of an all-or-nothing proposition. kids either spare an hour or two out of their tight 3 to 9PM after school academy schedule to go to taekwondo or play organized soccer or they simply don't.

    #1855877
    Walter Carrington
    BPL Member

    @snowleopard

    Locale: Mass.

    According to my Chinese cookbook, the original reason for white rice was that it stores better/longer than brown rice. I think oils in the brown rice that are removed by polishing can go rancid. I've had brown rice forgotten in the back of the pantry go rancid.

    It's not surprising that white rice can increase chances of diabetes. It's probably true of all refined grains (white flour, etc.) — they get metabolized faster than the whole grains.

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