I feel that if you're active and need safe starches, white rice is about the safest there is. The Okinawans have about the healthiest diet and longest life span. Lots of fatty meat. A little protein and some starch, mostly rice. I personally felt really bad on strict paleo with only sweet potatoes as starch. I started to eat waaaay too much fruit. I just felt bad. I tried for over a year, too. Then, I added in rice and white potatoes and felt much better. Obviously, it will be different for each person. We all have different genetics, toxin loads, environments, etc. I do think, though, that a more active person will generally need more carbs in the form of safe starches.

I choose potato over white rice every time except for sushi. Potato sushi never fails to disappoint.

White rice is the name given to milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed. After milling, the rice is polished for a bright, white, shiny appearance.

Very often the rice is polished using Talc- Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg3(SiO3)4 or Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder.

The reason, traditionally, to soak rice or least wash it thoroughly several times is to remove residues of Talc which is almost always present in polished rice.

I think soaking is not needed since its so processed. I'd try to figure out how it effects your blood sugar, maybe with a glucose meter? It doesn't bother me. I'm eating some now because I had a lot of sauce with my curry and needed something to absorb it. My main objection to it is that it can displace better foods.

soaking is for brown rice only. no need to soak white rice at all. the soaking process is actually to ferment the brown rice, which is why you soak with raw whey, and the only reason one who would to do this is to have positive bacteria predigest the rice so that it becomes more easily digestable for you. it reduces phytates (phytic acid) that is present in brown rice only.

and although brown rice is a darling 'grain' among mainstream 'health conscious' folk, it is only so for the same reasons that other whole grains are. the only difference between brown rice and white rice is the nutrients and the fiber of the shell. the jaminets argue that the there is no need to ingest that because you can simply get those same nutrients elsewhere, and you can avoid the antinutrients and grain proteins associated with the brown rice by just eating the stripped down version that we know as white rice. with rice, the starchy portion is separable from the rest. this is different from white flour products, which still contain the gluten proteins of wheat since the it's all ground up together during processing.

so now, after a several month hiatus from white rice, i'm glad to say it's back! just remember, white rice always taste better with a spoonful of pasture butter melted into it while it's still hot!

enjoy :)

this is completely anecdotal, but i grew up eating white rice and remember how it was important to thoroughly soak and rinse the rice before cooking to remove the toxins. then when i started learning about health food, i switched to brown rice, and the argument became 'don't rinse it! you're washing out all the fiber and nutrients!'

years later i believe all the fiber in my high-fruit, high-fiber diet had a bad effect on my gut and led to IBS.

since going paleo rice is one of the few carbs i still eat. i like to eat it with lots of butter or bacon grease to make it more satiating. but in general it tastes very bland to me and prefer mashed sweet potatoes.

One of the best ways to lose fat and gain muscle mass, is eating a diet that consists of rice - even white rice, with bean - veg and animal protein. No Sugar, No Bread, No Dairy, Just rice, beans / veg and animal protein...

You´ll never feel hunger pains, and you´ll have plenty of energy to go to the gym...I´ve never experienced such dramatic gains in my weight training, in as far as muscle ' strength gains and fat loss, until I started eating this way...

I stay away from all sugar, bread and dairy..and I eat rice, beans /vegetables..etc chicken, steak, eggs...and a lot of water. Combined with exercise, particularly anaerobic - weight training..You´ll be amazed at how much muscle you´ll gain, and how the fat melts off.

When I come accross people who pupu white rice, my first thought is ¨What A Damn Idiot¨..White rice is a great foundation, for anyone who wants to get and stay fit.

I have seen studies that say rice has something in it that is very much like gluten. So, if you know have problems with gluten, you may want to slowly add rice to a paleo diet - for example, have some one day, then wait a few days before you have more.

As I recall, Dr Harris says to have some potatoes or white rice if you seem to need starch. I do not think the Jaminet's consider themselves to be paleo.

The starch issue as stated by the Jaminets shed light on my main dietary problem: constipation. According to them starch causes mucin to form in the intestenial tract, as I understand it, making a protective surface on ones innards. A little white rice or potato or sweet potato goes a long way. I use Texmanti rice from Rice Select. It does not seem to be highly polished and I don't soak it.

After reading Carbohydrates and the Thyroid yesterday I tested on 3 tablespoons of white rice.

In the night my belly started to rumbel and now I'm puffy round my eyes, bloated and my nose is congested.

Could I get accustomed to it, if I ate it regularly? Or does it look like some allergic reaction?

Edit: My jaw joint has made a cracky noise for a few times this morning and my mouth feels as if my teeth have grown.

There are different ways of white rice.

I eat some white rice. But it does seem to elevate my blood glucose excessively.

Also, I want more and more and more. I could easily eat a huge plate of rice.

For carbs I tend to go with "roots," including potatoes.

The first time I tried white rice after not having grains for months, it gave me serious gas. I hadn't rinsed or soaked it at all and when I poured the cooking water over it, the water was instantly cloudy. I remember thinking that it didn't look right, but I was too lazy to do anything about it.

A few weeks later I gave it another go, but I rinsed it in a sieve under running water until the water ran clear and I had zero problems. Good thing too, cause I love white rice, and potatoes just don't go with some things.

Now I have rice several times a week and I always rinse it til it sits in clear water. Maybe it was the talc that was the original problem?

I eat white rice probably twice per week and have no reactions. I like it a lot, in fact.

I do not think you have to, or its worth your time to, soak white rice. You CAN indeed rinse it, though. This i believe is more just to get off any physical items like dirt, whatever that may have attached itself to the grains.

Living in Japan I learned that almost all people always rinse their white rice. Its absolutely default there. Brown rice, incidentally, is very rare. It is of course available but its something special, that one would have to make a point to get ahold of and cook.

I will note though that in the last maybe 10 years brown rice has indeed become more available on menus in Japan. I presume this is just the general consensus that brown rice is better for you spreading around the world.

Secondary question if i may be allowed: though many here would opt for white rice I wonder if the seriously small amount of bran that is even on brown rice would matter either way. In other words, we usually say "brown is actually no good so eat white" though society will tell you different. I just wonder if it matters either way, assuming its not an absolute staple in your diet.

I eat very strict paleo and my boyfriend was going to try it for 30 days but he is a type 1 diabetic and the doctor said he needs more direct carbs mim 120g a day. so we are going to add more sweet potatoes for him but we are trying to decide if adding rice or beans would be better for him. Does anyone have any answers for us and can help here?