It is a “classic food” of Spanish cuisine that is “known to be healthy” but is actually “harmful to the pancreas”. Recently, a study on the relationship between diabetes and the type of rice we eat (white or brown) has received wide media coverage. And the truth is, it rains on wet ground. We’ve heard a lot of negative things about eating rice over the past few years. What about one of the most produced and consumed cereals in the world, we asked ourselves?

What is white rice really? From the start, it is a highly processed product, although it may seem counterintuitive. If we think about it for a moment, a grain of rice is formed from the husk, bran, germ, and endosperm. Only the hard outer husk of brown rice is removed, but everything from white rice is removed and only the endosperm remains.

This gives us a clue as to what’s going on here: by producing white rice, we retain carbohydrates and remove fiber (from the bran) and nutrients (from the germ). Why do we do it? Why do we “drain” rice? Mainly because it improves taste, makes cooking easier and, above all, extends shelf life. So it is better protected, stored and maintained. And that was the winning argument until a few decades ago.

things have changed. What has happened is that today this argument is losing weight and possible problems with its consumption are starting to appear in a different way. That’s why we’ve heard for years that consumption of white rice (due to its high glycemic index) may be associated with an increased risk of diabetes, an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome, or having very high arsenic levels.

One problem, yes…. Second, arsenic affects the integral more than white because it tends to build up in dandruff, and this is something that has been (and has been) studied a lot from the European Union. However, it is a good example of what we usually read in the press about rice consumption and the problems associated with it. A media treatment that produces a completely distorted image of the subject.

…but with a big star. Because as soon as we review the studies on the subject, we encounter a small problem: All these statements are actually true, but they forget an important detail: they refer to the massive consumption of rice; in any case, much higher than typical consumption in Spain. For example, studies of metabolic syndrome are done in an Asian population.

So is it good or bad?. It is true that giving rice-derived foods (such as drinks or pancakes) to children under six years of age is not recommended, and fortified white rice may be recommended for pregnant women; however, moderate rice consumption (whether white or brown) in the general population is not a problem.

Is it better to eat brown rice? Nutrition and in general terms, yes. Above all, keeping our glycemic response in check on increasingly processed diets is a good long-term strategy. But this goes far beyond the type of rice we eat. And whenever we talk about a food alone, we run the risk of not seeing our diet as an integrated whole in which each part plays a role. If we’re not thinking on a general level, we shoot in the dark.

Image | Pierre Bamine