Genius Foods

FAQ: Should I eat brown rice or white rice?
A: The “healthiness” of grains typically has been assessed
with a metric called the glycemic index. This is a measure of
how quickly the food will affect your blood sugar, but is a
minimally useful measure of food quality since it doesn’t
reflect a typical serving size. Also, when sugars and starches
are mixed with other foods, the glycemic index becomes
inaccurate, as fat, protein, and fiber delay the absorption of
sugar into the bloodstream. A mixed meal of carbs, protein,
and fat might actually be even more difficult for your body
to deal with than sugar in its isolated form, by prolonging
the elevation of insulin. This, over time, can lead to big
problems (more on this in the next chapter).
Total glycemic load, which takes into account serving
size, may be a better measure of meal quality than the
glycemic index of any given food. (More difficult to
measure but possibly even better would be total insulin
load, which takes into account the potentiation of fat storage
that comes with carbs plus fat in processed foods.) Needless
to say, stick to the carbs that occur naturally in high-fiber
foods like vegetables, low-sugar fruits (I’ll list a few in the
coming pages), tubers, and beans and legumes, which have
a low glycemic index and load.
When it comes to rice, just pick the one you prefer.
While brown rice contains more fiber and micronutrients
than white rice, it’s not a great source of either and can be
difficult to digest for some people. Given the virtually
identical glycemic indexes and loads, when we occasionally
hit the sushi bar after an intense exercise session, I go for