Rice is Nice!
- Rita Date
- Dec 18, 2012
- 1 min read
Rice is a noble cereal that is easily digestible with good quality proteins. There are about 7000 varieties of rice worldwide. This complex carbohydrate contains about 6.8 grams proteins per 100 gm while the fats is just 0.5 gm ! In spite of this, rice is considered fattening in many parts of India, especially the urban areas. Actually a half cup serving of cooked rice has an average of only 100 calories
Rice has almost same calories as that of other cereals like wheat, maize, jowar, and bajra. The truth is that it’s not rice which is fattening but the various mouth watering recipes made from rice that pumps up the calories.
For example the Maharashtrian delicacy -‘ narali bhat ‘ has almost 11% fats-in it ( plain rice has only 0.5%) Also that’s not including the pure ghee we add on top to our recipes while serving, obviously the calorie
meter goes on a rise. Lemon rice has 250 calories with6.5 grams of fat, chicken biryani has 440 calories with 9grams of fat — you get the idea.
Though the protein percentage of rice less than most other cereals, nutrition science believes that the rice protein is of better quality than other cereal proteins. Due to good biological value and easy digestibility the net protein utilization(NPU ) of rice is higher than cereals. Remember the childs’s first weaning food is rice.
Rice is also higher than high protein pulses like bengal gram and red gram. Being very rich in starch it has protective effect against intestinal cancer. Nutritious and at the same time very light on the stomach, rice is good for those suffering from gout, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and HIV. That’s why its prescribed when you have an upset stomach.
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