The human body was never meant to consume rice! You see, our genes have hardly changed in more than 30,000 years. However, our food choices and lifestyle have changed dramatically. The caveman would hardly recognize our food or way of life.

Caveman food was never cooked as fire was not yet tamed. Thus, he ate only those foods that he can eat without treatment with or by fire. He ate fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs, nuts and meat. Yes, even meat. You can even eat meat raw if you were starving in the forest. You have the necessary enzymes to digest meat.

However, rice - like wheat and corn - cannot be eaten raw. It must be cooked. Even if you were starving in the desert, you cannot eat rice in the raw form. This is because we do not have the system of enzymes to break rice down. We were never meant to eat rice. To make matters worse, we not only eat rice, but also make it the bulk of our food.

In some parts of Asia, rice forms up to 85% of the plate. Even if we take rice, let's keep it to a minimum. Remember, it is only for our tongue... not our body. Actually, rice and other grains like wheat and corn are actually worse than sugar. There are many reasons:

Rice becomes sugar - plenty of it!

This can be a proven fact that no nutritionist can deny: rice is chemically no different form sugar. One bowl of cooked rice is the caloric same as 10 teaspoons of sugar. This doesn't matter if the rice is white, brown or herbal rice. Brown rice is richer in fibre, some B vitamins and minerals... but it is still the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar. To find the same 10 teaspoons of sugar, we have to consume plenty of kangkong... 10 bowls from it.

Rice is digested to become sugar.

Rice could be digested only when it's thoroughly cooked. However, when thoroughly cooked, it becomes sugar and
spikes circulating blood sugar within half an hour... almost as quickly as it would if we took a sugar candy. Rice is extremely low in the "rainbow of anti-oxidants". This complete anti-oxidant rainbow is necessary for the effective and safe utilization of sugar. Fruits come with a sugar called fructose. However, they are not empty calories as the fruit is packed with a whole host of other nutrients which help its proper assimilation and digestion.

Rice has no fibre.

The fiber of the kangkong fills us up well before our blood sugar spikes. The reason is , the fibre bulks and fills up our stomach. Since white rice has no fibre, we end up eating lots of "calorie dense" food before we get chock-full. Brown rice has more fibre but nonetheless offers the equivalent sugar.

Rice is tasteless.

Sugar is nice. There is only a lot that people can eat at one sitting. The number of teaspoons of sugar are we able to eat before we're feeling like sickness? Could you imagine eating 10 teaspoons of sugar in a single seating?

Rice is definitely the primary area of the meal.

While sugar may fill our dessert or sweeten our coffee, it will never be the primary a part of any meal. We're able to eat maybe two to three teaspoons of sugar at one meal. However, we're able to easily eat the equal value of two to three bowls (20 - 30 teaspoons) of sugar in a single meal. I am always amused when I see someone eat sometimes five bowls of rice (equals 50 teaspoons of sugar) after which request coffee or tea without sugar!

There isn't any real "built in" mechanism for all of us to prevent over-eating of rice. How much kangkong can we eat? How much fried chicken? Just how much steamed fish? Think about that! In one seating, we cannot take lots of chicken, fish or cucumber, but we are able to take plenty of rice. Eating rice causes us to eat more salt.

As rice is tasteless, we tend to consume more salt... another villain when it comes to hypertension control. We often take more curry that has salt to help flavor the rice. We often consume more ketchup and soy sauce which are also full of salt.

Eating rice causes us to drink less water.

The greater rice we eat, the less water we will drink as there is no mechanism to avoid the over-eating of rice. Rice, wheat and corn come hidden within our daily food. As rice is tasteless, it has a tendency to find themselves in other foods that function as rice substitutes. .. like rice flour, noodles and bread. We often consume the hidden forms which still get digested
into sugar. Rice, even when cooked, is difficult to digest.

Can't eat raw rice? Have rice half cooked. Contrary to public opinion, rice is very difficult to digest. It's "heavy stuff". If you have troubles with digestion, try skipping rice for a few days. You'll be surprised about how the problem will just go away.

Rice prevents the absorption of countless vitamins and minerals. Rice when taken in bulk will lessen the absorption of significant nutrients like zinc, iron and also the B vitamins.

Are you currently a rice addict?

Going rice less might not be easy, but we are able to still go rice less. Eating ess rice might be a lot easier than we believe. Here are a few strategies that we can pursue in our mission to consume less food rice:

1. Consume less food rice - Reduce your rice by half. Barry Sears, author of the Zone Diet, advises "eating rice like spice". Instead, increase your fruits & vegetables intake.

2. Take more lean meats and fish.

3. You may also take more eggs and nuts. Have "rice less" meals. Take no rice or wheat at say, breakfast. Choose eggs instead.

4. Go on "rice less" days - Go "western" once a week. Take no rice and breads for one day each week! That can't be too difficult. Appreciate the richness of your food. Choose taste, colors and smells. Make eating a culinary delight. Enjoy your food in the original flavors.

5. Avoid the salt shaker or ketchup. You will automatically eat less rice.

6. Eat your fruit dessert before your meals. The fibre-rich fruits will "bulk up" in your stomach. Thus, you will consume less food rice and much more fruits.

OUR WATER AFTER EACH MEAL

For individuals who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable for you. It says it's nice to have a cup of cold drink following a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you've just consumed.

It'll slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" responds to the acid, it'll break up and become absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine! Very soon, this can turn into fats and result in cancer.

It is best to drink hot soup or tepid to warm water following a meal.