Friday, December 16, 2005
DON'T EAT TOO MUCH RICE
The human body was never meant to consume rice! You see, our genes havehardly changed in more than 30,000 years. However, our food choices andlifestyle have changed dramatically. The caveman would hardly recognizeour food or way of life.Caveman food was never cooked as fire was not yet tamed. Thus, he ateonly 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 rawform. This is because we do not have the system of enzymes to break ricedown. 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 youtake 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 itThis is a fact that no nutritionist can deny: rice is chemically nodifferent 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 orherbal rice. Brown rice is richer in fibre, some B vitamins and mineralsbut 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 - 10bowls 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 sugarwithin half an hour - almost as quickly as it would if you took a sugarcandy. Rice is very low in the "rainbow of anti-oxidants"This complete anti-oxidant rainbow is necessary for the effective andsafe 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 beforeyourblood 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 fibrebut 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 youfeel like throwing up? Could you imagine eating 10 teaspoons of sugar inone 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 anymeal.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 someoneeat sometimes five bowls of rice (equals 50 teaspoons of sugar) and thenasks for tea tarik kurang manis!There is no real "built in" mechanism for us to prevent overeating of riceHow much kangkong can you eat? How much fried chicken can you eat? Howmuch steamed fish can you eat? Think about that! In one seating, youcannot 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 villainwhen it comes to high blood pressure. You tend to take more curry thathas salt to help flavor rice. We also tend to consume more ketchup andsoy sauce which are also rich in salt.Eating rice causes you to drink less water. The more rice you eat, theless 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 substituterice like rice flour, noodles and bread. We tend to eat the hidden forms which still get digested into sugar. Rice, even when cooked, isdifficult to digestCan't eat raw rice? Try eating rice half cooked. Contrary to popularbelief, rice is very difficult to digest. It is "heavy stuff". If you have problems with digestion, try skipping rice for a few days. You willbe amazed at how the problem will just go away.Rice prevents the absorption of several vitamins and minerals. Rice whentaken 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 gorice-less. Eating less rice could be lot easier than you think. Here aresome 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 ZoneDiet, 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 foreggs instead.Go on "riceless" days - Go "western" once a week. Take no rice and breads for one day every week. That can't be toodifficult. Appreciate the richness of your food. Go for taste, colorsand 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.
The human body was never meant to consume rice! You see, our genes havehardly changed in more than 30,000 years. However, our food choices andlifestyle have changed dramatically. The caveman would hardly recognizeour food or way of life.Caveman food was never cooked as fire was not yet tamed. Thus, he ateonly 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 rawform. This is because we do not have the system of enzymes to break ricedown. 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 youtake 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 itThis is a fact that no nutritionist can deny: rice is chemically nodifferent 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 orherbal rice. Brown rice is richer in fibre, some B vitamins and mineralsbut 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 - 10bowls 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 sugarwithin half an hour - almost as quickly as it would if you took a sugarcandy. Rice is very low in the "rainbow of anti-oxidants"This complete anti-oxidant rainbow is necessary for the effective andsafe 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 beforeyourblood 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 fibrebut 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 youfeel like throwing up? Could you imagine eating 10 teaspoons of sugar inone 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 anymeal.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 someoneeat sometimes five bowls of rice (equals 50 teaspoons of sugar) and thenasks for tea tarik kurang manis!There is no real "built in" mechanism for us to prevent overeating of riceHow much kangkong can you eat? How much fried chicken can you eat? Howmuch steamed fish can you eat? Think about that! In one seating, youcannot 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 villainwhen it comes to high blood pressure. You tend to take more curry thathas salt to help flavor rice. We also tend to consume more ketchup andsoy sauce which are also rich in salt.Eating rice causes you to drink less water. The more rice you eat, theless 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 substituterice like rice flour, noodles and bread. We tend to eat the hidden forms which still get digested into sugar. Rice, even when cooked, isdifficult to digestCan't eat raw rice? Try eating rice half cooked. Contrary to popularbelief, rice is very difficult to digest. It is "heavy stuff". If you have problems with digestion, try skipping rice for a few days. You willbe amazed at how the problem will just go away.Rice prevents the absorption of several vitamins and minerals. Rice whentaken 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 gorice-less. Eating less rice could be lot easier than you think. Here aresome 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 ZoneDiet, 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 foreggs instead.Go on "riceless" days - Go "western" once a week. Take no rice and breads for one day every week. That can't be toodifficult. Appreciate the richness of your food. Go for taste, colorsand 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.
posted by JEI @ JEIZONE at 13:28 | 
1 Comments:
--DON'T EAT TOO MUCH RICE--
This is a very good article... I believe those who wana go on diet, 1st read this article.