Roti vs Rice: Which is better (Health Tips) !!!

[Sagar Mody]

“Maama please…. I don’t want to eat rice. I will eat an extra roti but will never eat rice for the rest of my life. I will put on weight.” shouted Lakshmi as her mom served sambhar and rice for dinner.

It has been seen that there is a growing awareness about healthy lifestyle, maintaining ideal weight and the like among urban Indians. When we talk about healthy lifestyle or weight loss we generally refer to low carb food, high fiber, fresh fruits, vegetables, exercise, etc. Reducing carbohydrates intake seems to be a unanimous suggestion by most weight watchers.

Roti and rice both play a very integral part in the diet of the Indian people. Their meal is considered to be incomplete without rice or roti. Rice and roti are high in carbohydrates and hence all weight watchers are caught against the big battle of roti or rice?  

Let’s understand how we can include rice as well as wheat rotis in our daily diet without the fear of gaining weight.

 Wheat Roti/chapatti

Roti or chapattis are generally made from wheat flour and is a staple diet in most parts of our country.   

Tips to make rotis healthy and nutritious:

• Rotis made from wheat flour can be made low in fat by avoiding ghee, butter or oil while kneading the dough or while serving the chapatti.
• You can avoid adding salt while kneading the dough to avoid excess salt intake in our body. The rotis are generally served with vegetable or curry and hence can be had without salt.
• You can increase the fiber content in rotis by adding powdered oats or using jada flour (coarsely ground wheat flour) bran to the wheat flour. Nutritionist, Shamika Kulkarni suggests, “Jada flour is definitely advisable for making rotis because it has higher fiber content and is also less processed and less refined thus retaining the nutrients more than the refined flours. Nachni, Jowar and Bajra are also good options for making rotis since they are also high in fiber and rich sources of calcium, iron, etc.”
• To make rotis more nutritious and increase the quantity of proteins you can add soya flour or gram flour to the wheat flour before kneading the dough.
• You can also make nutritious masala rotis by kneading the dough with cooked dal or lentils. You can add onions, coriander, fenugreek or spinach to make it more healthy and tasty. Shamika Kulkarni says, “The nutritional value of the roti will definitely increase because adding lentils or dals will increase the protein content of the roti and the addition of onions, coriander, leafy vegetables or any other vegetables like bottle gourd (dudhi), grated carrots, cabbage, cauliflower will increase the fiber content as well as well as vitamin and the mineral content of the roti and also make it healthy and tasty. One must take care to avoid excess use of oil or ghee while making these rotis so as to control the caloric intake.”

Benefits of eating wheat rotis:

• Wheat rotis get slowly digested which results in a feeling of satiety for a longer time and hence good for weight watchers.
• Wheat rotis take longer time to digest which helps to maintain blood sugar levels.

Rotis or chapattis made from whole wheat are low in fat and rich in fiber, hence reduces the risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

Rice

Rice forms an important part of the diet in South India and East India. Rice is generally classified into categories viz. white rice and brown rice

a) White rice

White rice is the refined type of rice which is processed by removing the bran and polishing the grain. Removing the bran rips off the fiber and most of the nutrients contained in it. Nutrients like plant proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals are lost while polishing the rice. Cooking rice with excess water also drains off most of the nutrients. Shamika Kulkarni advises, “Rice should be cooked in cooker or should be covered if cooked in a vessel to avoid loss of nutrients. Secondly cooking rice in a cooker or in a covered vessel converts more starch into resistant starch that acts like fiber in the body. Draining of water reduces considerable amounts of water soluble vitamins and minerals. Hence while washing and cooking of rice minimal water must be used so that no water needs to be drained after cooking.”

  Tips to make white rice nutritious and healthy:

• White rice can be made nutritious by adding a variety of vegetables.
• Khichdi prepared with a combination of dal and rice increases the protein content and makes it a healthier option.

b) Brown rice

Brown rice is produced when the outermost layer, the hull, is removed from the rice kernel while retaining all the nutritional values which are generally lost during processing and polishing. Brown rice is unmilled kind of whole grain.

• Brown rice is highly nutritious and has good content of fiber, vitamin B, magnesium, iron and zinc.
• Rice bran contains fiber which helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
• Brown rice helps to control weight and reduce cholesterol levels which indirectly reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Shamika Kulkarni suggests, “Both rice and roti are rich in carbohydrates. Though of equal caloric value, their nutritional value differs as roti has higher amount of fiber than in rice. Rice is high in starch which is easily digestible and has higher glycemic index. Hence, roti is preferred to rice in diabetics and for people requiring weight loss. Roti can be made more nutritious by adding bran, oats or soya and the application of ghee or oil on roti should be avoided. Brown rice is superior to white rice since it is less polished and hence lesser nutrients are lost during processing.”

Though the general feeling is that chapatti is a better option for weight loss, both rice and roti have high carbohydrate content. Most individuals believe eating rice and roti in the same meal will make them fat.

Nutritionist Shamika Kulkarni debunks the myth. She says, “Rice as well as Roti are from the cereal group and hence the caloric input of equivalent portions is similar (30g wheat flour or 30g uncooked rice). It is acceptable to have both rice and roti in the same meal provided definite portions are consumed. If 2 portions of cereals as 1 roti and 1 vati rice are consumed it is definitely alright. But people forget to control the portions and end up eating 2 roti plus a liberal helping of rice which leads to excess caloric intake thus leading to weight gain.”

So guys, now that you are aware that both rice and roti have equal caloric value, you can maintain your weight by regulating the portion size. You can easily go ahead and relish your rice and roti, provided you remain disciplined in the amounts you eat.