Rice and calories
Eating healthy and having a regular physical activity are the important lifestyle behaviors that can keep chronic diseases at bay.
Eating rice can be a healthy option if you can take into account the type and the amount of the rice consumed.
Rice is the most popular grain and is a fundamental food in most cultural cuisine around the world! Rice is a good source of energy and is cholesterol free.
As far as calorie is concerned white rice and brown rice contain almost the similar amounts! In terms of vitamins and minerals brown rice is considered a good source.
Most rice eaters choose refined white rice for it’s an easiest and quickest food to digest when compared to brown rice that takes longer time to get digested. White rice is also a good choice for those trying to avoid wheat products. But it is considered a high glycemic index food when compared to brown rice. So, just don’t eat too much white rice.
Brown rice is 100% whole grain! Eating 2 or more servings of brown rice reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes (1/2 cup, cooked – 1 serving). It is rich in fiber that can protect against many type of cancer. Brown rice is rich in selenium that reduces the risk of colon cancer. Increasingly, health conscious people are choosing brown rice over white rice.
You can always be creative and change old recipes to new ones, switch white rice to whole grain brown rice, and make it more attractive by adding fruits and vegetables to the dish.
People, often found reading the food labels while doing their grocery shopping, struggling over whether to buy brown rice or white rice. Understanding the differences in these two kinds of rice can help you make good dietary decisions.
Go wild or brown!
Source-Rice Nutrition Facts: www.usarice.com
There are few things we need to pay attention to when discussing the rice calories whether brown or white rice. A special attention is required to understand whether rice calories mentioned on label is for raw dry rice or for cooked rice.
In restaurants and in hawker stalls the 
calorie is always listed for cooked rice (white/ brown).
Raw dry rice is thinner and lighter when compared to the same rice, cooked, that is thicker and denser.
For example 100 g of cooked – white long grain regular rice gives 130 calories when compared to 100 g of the same rice-dry, packed with 360 calories! There is a great difference between these two rice calories!
Popular types of rice white/brown cooked
| Rice – cooked | Serving size | Calories | Fiber | Protein |
| White-long grain | 1 cup/158 g | 205 | 0.6 g | 4.25 g |
| White- medium grain | 1 cup/186 g | 242 | 0.6 g | 4.43 g |
| White-short grain | 1 cup/205 g | 242 | 4.39 g | |
| Brown rice – long grain | 1 cup/195 g | 216 | 3.5 g | 5.03 g |
| Brown rice- medium grain | 1 cup/195 g | 218 | 3.5 g | 4.52 g |
Enjoy a diet rich in whole grain foods such as brown rice with lean meat, vegetables & fruits, less saturated fat and cholesterol that help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Regular exercise will help you feel younger and live longer. Doing regular physical activity decreases the likelihood of developing obesity and can make you feel good about yourself !
References
Kohila G 