this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2025
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Agree with the first two, but very much not the third. Standard white rice is essentially pre-diabetic junk food, with most of its nutrients and fibre stripped out.
Simple hot oatmeal would be a decent substitute, with ~8x as much fibre, ~3x as much protein, lower glycemic impact, and a modest but positive cholesterol impact.
I mean, it is true that white rice could be considered filler food with little nutritional value, but compared to other cheap foods (in the US anyway), it's probably better for you. I suppose I'm talking primarily talking about the heavily processed foods with added sugars - it would be better to have something with white rice than those. Unfortunately cheap, heavily processed foods are what most lower income people eat in the US. I consider those foods the actual pre-diabetic junk food. I also think a lot of people in the US likely add a ton of sugar to their oatmeal.
I love oatmeal, though, don't get me wrong. I have oodles of oats around, both in my pantry and with my other emergency supplies (I'm talking about a dozen #10 cans of just oats).
They're even worse than that, really, since they're not just pre-diabetic, but tend to be cancer-causing, arteriosclerosis-prone, and BP elevators, etc, as well. But just because white rice isn't quite as disastrous as those other things is still no recommendation to actually eat the stuff regularly.
If I was asked, I'd recommend having it as an occasional treat, just like all other junk food. No extremism here.
You should tell Indians and Asians about just having rice as a treat :)
Funny, it was several East Asians who brought it to my attention in the first place. They were bemoaning how so many of their older relatives had developed diabetes II, and strongly suspected white rice as a key culprit.
I'd have to digup stats but I think USA had higher diabetes due to everything being sugar, at least carbs like rice have to be digested and aren't instant sugar bomb
Oh, for sure. The US diet is horrible IME. Loads of sugar, salt, fried / hydrogenated oils in ultra-processed food. Absolutely crazy.
Meanwhile, the problem with white rice is not that it has simple carbs, but that it's little more than just starch, which has a fast, deleterious effect on blood glycemic levels. So for the cultures that eat white with almost every meal, it can be a real problem.
Absolutely, and I didn't mean to imply white rice was healthy or anything of the sort, or that you had an extremist take. I just think the lower class in the US has much more to worry about in this regard. You can definitely balance your carb intake, and as long as you're aware of the amount of carbs you're consuming and want white rice, I say go for it. You do need carbs to survive, after all, although carbs with fiber are obviously better suited for that.
If your only option is to eat white rice (and you don't have something healthier, like hot oatmeal or other cheap grains & legumes), then sure.
You're cool with me.