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Rice: Brown vs White
Underdog
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So my mom got her annual physical results back from the doctor and it was not great news. Her blood sugar is too high as well as her cholesterol. She was obviously not happy with the news and was surprised about the blood sugar because she has pretty much cut all sugar out of her life. So I'm trying to figure out what in her diet could be causing the higher sugar levels and I thought that the culprit might be white rice. So I mentioned that to her and she decided to try eating brown rice for a while but I'm looking at wiki's entries on both rices and brown rice is not the obviously healthier choice. It's got lower carbs but like 4 times as much fat. What's the deal? Should my mom switch rices then? Anyone have experience dieting to get rid of both high blood sugar and cholesterol?
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Lowering cholesterol is pretty simple, you should be able to find lots of stuff on that. The only reason it's hard is that diet is usually at least partly to blame for high cholesterol, and a cholesterol-lowering diet involves avoiding foods people tend to like, and starting to eat foods that people are not so keen on. Those Quaker Oats and Cheerios commercials are no joke--oatmeal (the plain dry stuff, not the instant packets) and whole grains are very good at lowering cholesterol. As is exercise.
Did her doctor give her any advice, refer her to a nutritionist, anything? Seems pretty weird that he would be like, "Wow, your blood sugar's really high. Good luck with that!"
And yeah, it's weird I'm looking to rice but like I said, she's pretty much cut out all sugar in her diet and it's still not enough so I tried thinking of unusual areas.
Cheerios huh. That actually might be a good thing to suggest to her. But is brown rice healthier anyway?
I wouldn't look to a single food item "fixing" her diet, unless she eats the single food item as a major source of her daily diet.
edit actually, according to this: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_Brown_Rice_healthier_than_White_Rice
brown has more fiber and that is probably a more accurate reason, most people don't get nearly enough fiber
White rice versus brown rice.
The first thing to note is that a cup of brown rice has about the same amount of calories as half of a cup of white rice. White rice packs more calories into a smaller serving, but most of those calories are coming from simple, empty starches, which can cause spikes in your blood sugar. Brown rice is getting most if its calories from whole grains, which means that it's using complex carbohydrates, along with dietary fiber (which your body doesn't actually convert into calories, it just helps to keep your digestive tract clean). You mention the fat, but really, you're talking about 2 grams of fat per cup of rice, and all of that fat is unsaturated fat, which is good for you; those are the types of fats you want in your diet. Saturated fats are necessary, but most Americans get way, way too much of them. Another thing that's good for regulating sugar intake levels is to eat more often; instead of eating three meals a day, eat six smaller meals per day. This causes much smaller spikes in blood sugar levels.
As far as cholesterol goes, there are two main foods that can help you get that down: olive oil and fish. A can of chunk light tuna per day provides a significant amount of both HDL cholesterol (which is the good type) and omega-3 fatty acids. Fish in general is great for lowering cholesterol, due to the good fats.
In any case, a diet looking to lower cholesterol is going to look a lot like a good diet in general:
*No more than 30% of your calories from fat. Each gram of fat is about 9 calories, so in a 2,000-calorie diet, you should be getting no more than 65 grams of fat per day. At least 3/4ths of that should be mono- and poly-unsaturated fats. Lowering saturated fat intake is one of the keys to lowering cholesterol.
*No trans-fats. Note that things that say "0g of trans-fat per serving" are not trans-fat free, they're just rounding down. If it's impossible to avoid them entirely, at least avoid them whenever possible. Check the ingredients lists of foods for any sort of "partially hydrogenated" oils. If it has partially hydrogenated oils, it has trans-fat.
*Get lots of dietary fiber. 25g per day should be your absolute minimum; 30g per day is a good target. One of the best ways to get this is from a bowl of whole-grain cereal in the morning. If you go with the six-meal plan, make breakfast your biggest meal of the day, even if you're not hungry. Eating a healthy breakfast is a great cornerstone for both lowering blood sugar and reducing cholesterol; it really is the most important meal of the day.
*Exercise. I know I'm talking diet here, but 20-30 minutes of healthy cardiovascular exercise is really good for your heart. The reason cholesterol levels are important is that they're an indicator for heart disease, and a good way to fight heart disease is to get in that cardiovascular exercise.
*Reduce cholesterol intake. Should be no higher than 300mg per day. The reason that this is at the end of the list is that it is the least-important. Cholesterol levels have less to do with actual cholesterol intake ("dietary cholesterol"), and more to do with what kind of cholesterol your liver is stimulated into producing ("blood cholesterol"). An egg or two with breakfast, for example, is a great way to start the morning, and has been fairly conclusively shown to not contribute to higher cholesterol levels. Keep in mind there are some saturated fats in there, but the vitamins, minerals, and protein you get from an egg far outweigh the downsides (assuming you aren't doing something like frying them in butter).
Assess the results against the tips in the fitness thread and calculate the calories (yes I know blood sugar isn't just about calories but just to be sure what she's eating) and try and find any culprits.
t onceling: That'd actually be a pretty good idea. I'll suggest that to her.
To expand on this point, I tend to be wary of anything that advertises its nutritional value and health content. When you go to a fish market and buy a fish, it doesn't have "high in Omega-3 oils!" written on it in huge block lettering. Oranges don't have "high in Vitamin C" imprinted on them. Generally speaking, foods that have to advertise that they are healthy have something to hide. There are of course exceptions (see Quaker Oats).
I know that's not scientific, but I do have a hard time believing that problematically high blood sugar is being caused by white rice.
I'd definitely get her to keep a food diary. But make sure she's strict. I used to do it when I was younger and got sick with Crohns, and it's difficult to remember everything you consume. There can be some big surprises.
Heh - your list made my mouth water. I've gone so native it's quite ridiculous. Mmmm tasty tasty seaweed.