Why you do not eat white rice?

In my country, Indonesia, white rice being the staple food of the majority of the population. If we do not eat white rice, it means we have not eaten. For lay people in my country, white rice is considered as the main source of carbohydrates and be the best. Yes maybe it is a natural thing, because many countries in Asia, and particularly in Indonesia, an agricultural country, where many people are rice farmers. When I started to not consume white rice, my family always ask, "why you do not eat white rice? Whether you do not limp? '. Not to mention, my grandmother who is always angry if I do not eat rice.

Hmmm, there are many people who do not know that the carbohydrate content in white rice just is a simple carbohydrate, while there is a better carb, namely complex carbohydrates. Yes, because eating rice has become a habit that carried out starting from the children, particularly in the western part of Indonesia.

So how exactly the carbohydrate content in white rice?

White rice is a simple carbohydrate, carbohydrates that have a chemical structure is simple, it is what makes the body more quickly to process and absorb carbohydrates. The more rapidly absorbed, then we will more quickly feel hungry, and will provoke our appetite. White rice also contains fiber which is only a little, but it has a glycemic index (a measure of how quickly glucose is released into the bloodstream after a meal) is high, and this gives a negative effect on blood sugar levels.

Carbohydrates are a source of sugar for our bodies to be processed into energy, but for the process so that maximum energy, the sugar needs a friend like fiber, vitamins and minerals. If not all processed incoming glucose into energy, glucose is stored as a backup in the body, if too many reserves, it will be the fat in your body, mainly stored in your stomach and cause your stomach to be distended. Therefore, it would be dangerous if we consume food or drinks that are high in sugar and have a few good friends. That's why Asian people considered at high risk for type 2 diabetes. This is because Asians tend to have a much higher intake to consume rice compared to Westerners, an average of three to four servings a day.

And what about the complex carbohydrates? and where can we get it?

Opposed to simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates clearly has a chemical structure that is longer and complicated. Due to the complexity that causes the body is hard to digest, so it will last longer in the body and eventually released back through the feces. This has led us full longer. Normally present in foods that have high fiber content like fruits and vegetables. 

Foods that contain complex carbohydrates and is easily digested by the body;the example is  whole wheat, brown rice, root crops such as potatoes, cassava and sweet potatoes. Fruits that are young like bananas, tomatoes, mangoes and papaya also contains complex carbohydrates.

Complex carbohydrates clearly have fiber and nutrients better than simple carbohydrates, and also has a lower glycemic index.

So try to recognize the type of carbohydrates you consume. Not just because it has become a habit for the body. It does require adaptation if we change our eating kind, but if it's a good adaptation to the direction, why not? Long ago, when I first tried to not eat rice, my body feels weak indeed, but after not making the white rice as a staple food, it is precisely this body feels lighter. I changed my staple food with oatmeal porridge or sometimes with whole wheat bread, because it is more practical.

It is important to know what kind of nutrients that enter your body, because this is also will be a first step if you want to start for a healthier life :)