Some facts about white rice

White rice: To get white rice from brown rice, the inner part of grain, germ and the inner covering of grain, husk (bran) are removed. Later the grain is polished with glucose or talc.

The complete pounding and polishing (refining) that takes place to convert brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids.

Disadvantages of white rice

• White rice is digested quickly, that is, it breaks down into glucose quickly causing drastic reaction with insulin, so it is not suggested for diabetic patients. Besides, White rice has high value of Glycemic index (70), when it is consumed in more quantities it causes diabetes.
• It has low nutritional value.

When people started using white rice in 1897, it was found that, consuming white rice is the main reason for cause of deadly disease beriberi, due to lack of vitamin B1 in white rice, which is removed during processing. So Government of America, compelled companies to retain back naturally occurring vitamins (during processing) in white rice in order to obtain enriched rice

Additional benefits of brown rice – from practical point of view:

When cooked, brown rice has a slight smell. It is not refined like white rice where all the nutrients layers are removed so it can taste bland. It will feel a bit odd, but take it, it is good for your health

Two things you will notice with brown rice is – it will force you to mix it with more sambar or dal and more curry to get the taste of food (you were used to earlier). This is good, because it is causing you take more proteins and vegetables that are more healthy. Secondly, you get satiated more quickly than with white rice – you cannot over eat even if the curry is very tasty. Again a plus point from a heath perspective.