Diets always recommend eating brown rice but I cannot see much difference between white and brown.

1) the rice grain is separted from the plant
2) the grain is threshed (beaten) to remove an outer layer
3) the grain is tossed so the chafe is blown away - and that`s brown rice.
4) the brown is `polished` in a mill to get the white rice - the outer layer is discarded. (actually this outer layer, rich in vitamins, is ground and sold as a supplement)

This is what happens on farms here in Indonesia.

So the difference between white and brown rice is the same as the difference between a whole apple and a peeled apple - just loss of vitamins and fiber.

Comments please.

So the difference between white and brown rice is the same as the difference between a whole apple and a peeled apple - just loss of vitamins and fiber.

Vitamins and fiber are good, so why would you want to get rid of them? Also, brown rice has a lower glycemic index and load (http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/foods/grains/gigl.html) than white rice.

Yes the vitamins are a good reason for eating brown rice, but I think there is very difference on the GI, not really sure why there is a difference.

The irony is that althought Indonesia produces lots and lots of rice no one sells brown rice. Actually a few up market supermarkets have brown rice from thailand but its far more expensive as I can`t see m,uch difference between brown and white I`ll just save some money and take an extra B complex pill.

white rice is eaten all over the world and they don't seem to have problem with getting fat from it. why just americans think it's so bad?

Yes the vitamins are a good reason for eating brown rice, but I think there is very difference on the GI, not really sure why there is a difference.

The difference in GI is due to the fiber.

Basmati rice is also a lower GI, both in brown and white versions. I use brown basmati rice lately.

is it fine to eat the white basmati rice ? ... unfortunately i can't find any brown rice around here! so i stopped eating rice completely ... the only thing that is bothering me is that when you try to eat healthy you usually end up having limited choices (vegetables are exception) ...

You can always go the route that I take....scrap the rice and eat potatoes...:lol:

I have grown to hate rice in all forms....not sure why, I used to enjoy it but I think I just got burnt out on it.

oh yes i eat potatoes when sweet potatoes are not in season ... but i make sure i eat green veggies with them +protein of course to reduce their high G.I

Quinoa. :nod:

If you're diabetic or hypoglycemic (or maybe it's the hyperglycemic, I can never remember ... whichever one my officemate is :)) and you want rice, then you need to stick with brown rice because of the lower GI.

There isn`t much difference between white and brown rice GI; I suppose though if I were to mix husk (the part which is taken off in the milling) with the white rice it would be the same as brown rice?

I don't think a B complex pill will make up for what you're missing in brown rice.

When they remove the outer layer of that rice, it's a form of processing. The more processing done to a food product, the less work your body needs to do, and the quicker the energy is either used in your body as fuel, or stored as fat.

It's good to ask your body to do work, because it enhances your metabolism, and it stretches out the time that the food will effectively be used as fuel. Eating white rice, for example, can cause your blood sugar to spike then crash shortly after eating it, while eating brown rice will keep your blood sugar levels stable over a longer period of time.

So if you need short term energy, like for specific sports performance and muscle recovery, then white rice would be good. But if you're looking for sustained energy throughout the day, brown rice is a much better choice.

You could mix the husk with the white rice, but I'm not sure this would be the "same" as brown rice. Because they are already separated, it's still less work for your body to do, so I believe in this case the effective GI would be higher. I wouldn't be surprised if there is also some vitamin and mineral loss in the process as well.

Think of white rice kind of like "bleached and enriched white flour". The "enriched" part still isn't the same as whole wheat flour at putting back the nutrients that were removed during the processing.

white rice is eaten all over the world and they don't seem to have problem with getting fat from it. why just americans think it's so bad?

Because its 'refined.'

And 'refined' food is usually bad.

High GI index, bad carbs. Overdo it and you'll get fat.

Quinoa. :nod:

FTW!!! It's my main grain. In order I probably consume quinoa, oats (scottish) and buckwheat (ala oatmeal and also as soba/pasta) daily.

NutritionData.com lists brown rice as a GI of 98, white rice as 108. Brown is much higher in Thiamin, Vitamin E, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Manganese.7