Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Rice and Nutrition
Please don't accuse me of being a spoil sport. I know you all love Indian food and the taste of it. It is the most delicious food in the world. My concerns are around nutrition. I believe today's Indian food is severely lacking in nutrition. In the old days everything was organic, and things were eaten in balance. Chapatis were made of whole wheat, people ate sugar only occasionally and heavy meals were not taken more than once a day and that was only if you were lucky. Rice is a staple here as many of you know.
All rice eaten is white rice. White rice is brown rice with the outside polished off. I am not sure what the process is exactly. But it is fair to say that the lion's share of nutrition is lost when rice becomes white. Like in Europe in early last century, only rich people ate white bread and the poor people ate brown bread. Guess who was healthier? Then poor people, wanting to imitate the rich, started eating white bread when they could afford to do so with their new found middle class wealth. And then it became the staple. I remember back in the seventies, when you would get treated like a real weirdo for asking for brown bread in restaurants in Canada. It is like that here, if I ask for brown rice. Nix that. I don't really ask for it. I mention it and no one has any idea what I am talking about. Except for a few brave souls who have figured out how healthy it is. If India would switch to brown rice, overnight nutrition would improve drastically for 8-900 million people. That's a lot of people. Most of you readers know the benefits of whole grain foods. In North America, it is poor people who eat white bread now and those with bigger budgets eat brown bread and its many cousins. This is what is going to happen here. Poor people will continue to eat white rice while middle class people will be eating brown organic Basmati rice and exporters will be thrilled to have found a domestic market much larger than the export one. The only ones negatively affected will be rice polishers. Let's hope they find something else to work on. I'm sure it will happen very soon.
All rice eaten is white rice. White rice is brown rice with the outside polished off. I am not sure what the process is exactly. But it is fair to say that the lion's share of nutrition is lost when rice becomes white. Like in Europe in early last century, only rich people ate white bread and the poor people ate brown bread. Guess who was healthier? Then poor people, wanting to imitate the rich, started eating white bread when they could afford to do so with their new found middle class wealth. And then it became the staple. I remember back in the seventies, when you would get treated like a real weirdo for asking for brown bread in restaurants in Canada. It is like that here, if I ask for brown rice. Nix that. I don't really ask for it. I mention it and no one has any idea what I am talking about. Except for a few brave souls who have figured out how healthy it is. If India would switch to brown rice, overnight nutrition would improve drastically for 8-900 million people. That's a lot of people. Most of you readers know the benefits of whole grain foods. In North America, it is poor people who eat white bread now and those with bigger budgets eat brown bread and its many cousins. This is what is going to happen here. Poor people will continue to eat white rice while middle class people will be eating brown organic Basmati rice and exporters will be thrilled to have found a domestic market much larger than the export one. The only ones negatively affected will be rice polishers. Let's hope they find something else to work on. I'm sure it will happen very soon.
Comments:
<< Home
India is a land of diversity. Even it can be witnessed in its endless array of cuisines. Visit http://www.hill-stations-india.com/ to know more about Indian Cuisines.
Post a Comment
<< Home
