Is Jasmine rice healthy?

[Mr Rayon]

I heard that eating Jasmine rice is unhealthy in that it is like eating sugar by itself. A lot of people recommend basmati, brown or long grain rice. Is this true? Is Jasmine rice unhealthy? Can it make you fat?

[Mr Skeptic]

Rice has plenty of carbs, which can indeed make you fat. Not as bad as sugar, but possibly worse than fats. Pretty much the same as bread or other stuff made from grains. You can certainly do far worse; I wouldn't really consider rice unhealthy, although then it becomes a question of quantity. In any case, the asians don't seem to have a problem with it.

[CharonY]

I would be surprised if you could gain significant weight on a rice diet.

[skyhook]

The local grocery stalls and supermarkets sell polished white rice, which is mainly Jasmine rice. Rice have a high glycemic index. I think it can make one get fat, but nobody eat a pure rice diet. There are some fat rice-eating people around me. Brown rice is unpolished rice, the supermarket usually stock these in lower quantity for the health conscious people. Brown layer has some nutrients which is striped when they polished the rice. Jasmine rice is from Thailand, and some other regions grow it too. I don't know the difference of Jasmine rice compared to Basmati rice, maybe the texture of the cooked rice or the glycemic index. Polished rice , a refined food, give a spike to the blood sugar level. It is mainly carbohydrates, according to the food pyramid chart, carbohydrates form a significant portion of the diet and fats should be low in the diet. so I think rice it is not worst than fat.

[Edtharan]

When it comes to "unhealthy" foods there are few foods that are outright "unhealthy". These are foods that contain high levels of toxins. There aren't many, and there are some that are natural (the flavour of potatoes is actually the toxin in them - small amounts give a nice flavour, but too much can cause illness or even death - they are a member of the deadlyniteshade family).

 

When it comes to weight, then it is a matter of amount and timing.

 

If you eat too much of anything it can be unhealthy for you. Too much carbohydrates can cause you to put on weight.

 

But, also eating foods at different times can cause you to put on weight. If you eat a low GI, even in reasonable quatities, and then sit around (or say go to bead), by the time your body has processed the food and is ready to give you energy, you are not going to use it and so the body stores it.

 

What this means is that if you are going to do an activity that needs a lot of energy (eg: going to the gym), then a high GI meal (in reasonable quantity) is ok. But, if you have a late night snack (say a late dinner) and it is a low GI mean, then this can cause you to end up putting on weight because by the time the energy is released from the food, you will be sleaping and not need that energy.

[Eduardo]

I agreed with this people. Jasmine rice is healthier than other rice such as goya, etc. Rice is not very healthy because once you cook it, it doesn't have that many nutrients. Chart

I eliminated rice from my diet.. I actually replaced that with quinoa for amino acids .Brown rice vs Quinoa

 

Hope I helped!

Edited December 5, 2010 by Eduardo