The truth about rice

Q: I love rice, but I am afraid it’s not so good for me— kind of the white bread of grains, my wife tells me. What’s the real story?—George G., Monroe, Louisiana

A: She’s mostly right, George. Amaranth, barley, brown rice, buckwheat, bulger, corn, farro, freekeh, millet, oats, quinoa (really a grass), rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, triticale, wheat and wild rice— all are whole grains. They retain the highly fibrous and nutrition-packed parts of the grain: bran, germ and endosperm. White rice retains only the starchy endosperm, making it nutrition-poor and much more likely to spike your blood sugar.

But not all whole grains are created equal. For example, 1.5 ounces of freekeh has 6 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein; quinoa has 3 and 5.5, respectively. And a review of 45 studies on whole grains found that neither white nor brown rice reduced your risk of stroke, heart disease or cancer, unlike the heart-protective powers of 100 percent whole wheat.

That said, brown rice is healthier for you than white rice; it delivers fiber, thiamine, vitamins B-6 and E, protein, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium and manganese. A meta-analysis of 16 studies found a 32 percent reduction in the risk for Type 2 diabetes from eating three servings of whole grains, including brown rice, daily.

Check out “Super Grains You Should Be Eating” at DoctorOz.com.