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Whenever it comes to weight loss i.e. fat loss or the challenge of controlling increased blood sugar level in the body i.e. diabetes, the first order issued by fitness experts and nutritionists is to stop eating rice immediately. A big myth regarding rice in our country has become that eating it causes belly fat to increase rapidly and sugar levels to skyrocket, due to which countless people stay away from their favorite rice plate. But modern nutrition science and medical research prove that the problem is not actually the rice itself, but the wrong understanding of the carbohydrates present in our dinner plate due to which we consume carbohydrates in the wrong way without thinking. If you understand this entire science of carbs deeply and make some scientific changes in your daily eating habits, then you will not need to say goodbye to rice from your diet forever. In this detailed and informative article, we are going to introduce you to the subtle game between simple and complex carbs, knowing which you can keep your weight under control and beat diabetes even while eating a lot of rice.
In today’s time, whenever a person starts the journey of weight loss, he first gets trapped in the trap of ‘Low-Carb Diet’ or ‘Keto Diet’ and considers carbohydrates as his biggest enemy. But do you know that carbohydrates are the main and primary fuel of energy for our body, without which the brain and muscles cannot function properly? The problem arises not from eating carbs but from choosing the wrong types of carbs, which in the language of science are divided into different categories as simple carbs and complex carbs. When we eat excessively refined or processed foods, they get directly converted into glucose in our body and cause insulin spike, which leads to fat accumulation in the body. On the contrary, when we choose nutrient-rich and fiber-rich carbs, they get digested slowly in our body and provide energy for a longer period of time. So instead of completely eliminating carbohydrates from your diet, it makes more sense to learn which carb is a boon for our body and which is a bane.
To understand this whole game of carbs, we first have to understand very closely the basic difference between Simple Carbs and Complex Carbs. Simple carbs are those carbohydrates whose chemical structure is very simple and small, due to which our body digests them in a jiffy and they immediately mix in the blood and suddenly increase the blood sugar level very rapidly. White sugar, white flour, white bread, packaged drinks, sweets and polished white rice fall in the category of simple carbs, which make you feel hungry again within a short time of eating. Complex carbs, on the other hand, are those whose molecular structure is long and complex, and our digestive system has to work a little harder to digest them. Whole grains, brown rice, red rice, oats, pulses, chickpeas, kidney beans, green leafy vegetables and fiber-rich fruits are considered excellent examples of complex carbs. Since complex carbs are rich in dietary fiber, they take longer to digest and release sugar slowly in the body, which makes the stomach feel full for a longer period of time and does not cause frequent cravings.
Rice has always been an essential part of the main meal in the Indian kitchen, and giving it up suddenly can prove to be quite stressful mentally, but the good thing is that you don’t need to do so. When it comes to rice, we have to understand what kind of rice we are eating and what is our style of cooking it. Highly polished white rice has lost its peel and fiber, due to which its glycemic index (GI) becomes very high and it starts reacting like simple carbs. On the contrary, if you start using brown rice, red rice, black rice or hand-pounded rice instead of white rice, you will get plenty of fiber, vitamin B and minerals. Additionally, a traditional Indian method of cooking rice also helps in reducing its glycemic index, which involves boiling the rice in enough water and removing the excess water. Rice cooked in this way does not cause sudden sugar spike in the body and becomes completely safe even for people who control their weight.
If you are a diabetic patient or are troubled by your increasing weight, it does not mean that you can never taste rice throughout your life, you just have to adopt some smart and scientific methods in your life. The first rule is that you should never eat rice alone, but always include plenty of protein and healthy fats such as pulses, cheese, boiled vegetables, curd or ghee with it. When you eat rice along with protein and fiber rich items, the total glycemic load of the food reduces significantly and glucose enters the bloodstream very slowly. Apart from this, take special care of your portion control, that is, instead of eating rice from a big plate, eat a small bowl of rice. Another very scientific method is to refrigerate cooked rice for a few hours, which increases the amount of ‘resistant starch’ in it, and then heat it and eat it. Resistant starch becomes a type of fiber that improves gut health and improves insulin sensitivity, thereby keeping both weight and sugar under control.
The journey of losing weight and defeating diabetes forever is not just about restrictions for a day or two, rather it is about adopting a permanent lifestyle and right eating habits. If you understand the concept of ‘Carb Cycling’ in your diet, in which you consume low carbs some days of the week and moderate carbs some days, then your metabolism always remains active. Along with this, it is very important to make physical activity i.e. workout, yoga, cardio or brisk walk a part of your daily routine so that whatever complex carbs or rice you eat can be converted into energy instead of getting stored in the body as fat. It is advisable to avoid eating heavy carbs at night as physical activities reduce at night, so give preference to light and easily digestible foods for dinner. By adopting these small and scientifically proven changes, you can enjoy your favorite rice without any strict and life-threatening restrictions and can easily fulfill your dream of a slim, fit and healthy body.