DON'T EAT TOO MUCH RICE...
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 he 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. We were never meant
to eat rice. To make matters worse, we not only eat rice, but also make
it the bulk of our food.
In
some parts of Asia, rice forms up to 85% of the plate. Even if we take
rice, let's keep it to a minimum. Remember, it is only for our
tongue... not our 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 equivalent
of 10 teaspoons of sugar. This does not matter whether the rice is
white, brown or herbal rice. Brown rice is richer in fiber, 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, we need to
consume lots
of kangkong… 10 bowls of it.
Rice is digested to become sugar. Rice
can be digested only when 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 we 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
utilization 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 fiber.
The fiber of the kangkong fills us up long before our blood sugar
spikes. This is because the fiber bulks and fills up our stomach. Since
white rice
has no fiber, we end up eating lots of 'calorie dense' food before we
get filled up. Brown rice has more fiber but still contains the same
amount of sugar.
Rice is tasteless. Sugar
is sweet. There is only so much that we can eat at one sitting. How
many teaspoons of sugar can we eat before we 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 our dessert or sweeten our coffee, it will never
be the main part of any meal. We could eat maybe two to three teaspoons
of sugar at one meal. However, we 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 ask for tea or coffee without
sugar!
There is no real 'built in' mechanism for us to prevent overeating of rice. How much kangkong can we eat? How much fried chicken?
How much steamed fish? Think about that! In one seating, we cannot take
lots of chicken, fish or cucumber, but we can take lots of rice. Eating
rice causes us to eat more salt.
As
rice is tasteless, we tend to consume more salt... another villain when
it comes to high blood pressure control. We tend to take more curry
that has salt to help flavor the rice. We also tend to consume more
ketchup and soy sauce, which are also rich in salt.
Eating rice causes us to drink less water. The
more rice we eat, the less water we 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 serve as rice substitutes… 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 we can still go rice less. Eating less
rice could be a lot easier than we think. Here are some strategies that
we can pursue in our quest to eat less rice:
1. Eat less rice - Cut your rice by half. Barry Sears, author of the Zone Diet, advises 'eating rice like spice'.
Instead, increase your fruits & vegetables intake.
2. Take more lean meats and fish.
3. You can even take more eggs and nuts. Have 'rice less' meals. Take no rice or wheat at say, breakfast. Go for eggs instead.
4. Go on 'rice less' 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.
5. Avoid the salt shaker or ketchup. You will automatically eat less rice.
6. Eat your fruit dessert before (Yes! No typo-error!) your meals. The fiber-rich fruits will 'bulk up' in your stomach! Thus, you will eat less rice and more fruits.
OUR WATER AFTER EACH MEAL
For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.
It says it is nice to have a cup of cold drink
after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that
you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this
'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by
the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine!
Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory."