A Healthier Way To Eat White Rice

A Healthier Way To Eat White Rice

I generally follow a low carb modified keto diet, but I really enjoy white rice. Recently, I read an excellent article by T-Nation’s TC Luoma on how to reduce the glycemic index (GI) of white rice while also cutting its calories by about 50%.

According to TC, there is a technique to reduce white rice’s calories by as much as 50%!

White rice can be much easier to digest than brown rice because brown rice contains phytic acid, which prevents the absorption of certain minerals and makes it more challenging for the body to digest proteins and starches. Further, white rice doesn’t cause gastrointestinal stress or food allergies. Many athletes and weekend warriors eat white rice as part of a post-workout meal because it promotes recovery. In fact, four-time Mr. Olympia and bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler also likes white rice as part of his ideal pre-workout meal. Jay’s pre-workout recommendation is as follows: eat a solid meal an hour before working out. His ideal meal consists of 8oz of grilled chicken and 1 1/2 cups of white rice.  Keep in mind, Jay’s is a pretty massive guy so his portion sizes probably don’t apply to your typical weekend warrior!

Changing the molecular structure of rice

Sudhair James, an undergraduate at the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka, and his mentor, Dr. Pushparajah Thavarajah, devised a remarkably easy solution to changing the molecular structure of rice.

What to do:

  1. Boil water
  2. Add one teaspoon of coconut oil
  3. Add 1 cup of rice
  4. Cook rice for approximately 20 minutes
  5. Let the rice cool in the refrigerator for 12 hours
  6. Reheat and serve
  • By boiling the rice in water mixed with coconut oil, you change the architecture of the rice, turning it into a resistant starch, where two polysaccharides (amylose and amylopectin) connect to form indigestible bridges.
  • Chilling the rice for 12 hours leads to further conversion of starches. The result is a food with far fewer calories.

A few additional thoughts

  • The amount of oil the researchers used was 3% of the weight of the rice. A cup of uncooked rice weighs about 175 grams, so you need to use about 5 grams of coconut oil per cup.
  • The researchers used coconut oil because it’s the most widely available oil in their part of the world. They are open to the possibility that other oils would work equally well.
  • They experimented on 38 varieties of rice. The least healthful one resulted in a 10%-12% reduction of calories, but they hope that resistant Suduru Samba, a rice indigenous to Sri Lanka, along with other kinds of rice, will prove to have 5%-60% fewer calories.

You can find more information on their research here.

Lorne Marr Bio

My passion for fitness began in 1981, when my father, Larry Marr, bought me my first Weider weight set.

Hearing the clanking of those weights and, more importantly, wanting to get buff to impress my buddies, created an obsession that has lasted a lifetime.  Staying active and following a health minded diet and lifestyle has allowed me to live a more productive, happier and overall better quality of life.

There have been some hurdles along the way.  When I hit 45 injuries starting piling up and made working out and playing sports more challenging. So I took a step back and reexamine my training and diet. I reached out to a host of experts within my Fitness community on how to maximize performance and optimize my health and hence the genius of FitAfter45.

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