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White rice is as healthy as brown rice

> Busting the myth that white rice is less nutritious

Carlos Bilan
Staff Writer

 

A: an Asian person—Filipino,
specifically—I see rice as a way of life.
Personally, I love white rice, especially
Basmati, Jasmine, and Japanese. However,
since | eat so much of it, I should try

to eat brown rice instead, right?

You have probably heard it from
many that brown rice is healthier than
white rice, but this may not actually be
the case. Science proves that white rice
is actually just as healthy as brown rice.

The main argument when it comes to
comparing the two involves the glycemic
index (GI) factor, which presents how
rapidly food can cause a person's blood
sugar level to rise. Brown rice is said to
have lower GI than white rice. However,
this GI becomes insignificant since the
“parameters used to determine each food’s
glycemic index is based on a test of 50
grams of that given carbohydrate eaten
by itself after an overnight fast,” wrote
certified sports nutritionist Erik Ledin, in
a blog post to Lean Bodies Consulting.

To illustrate—if you eat a bowl of

 

white rice first thing in the morning
without anything else, then yes, you'll
experience its full GI effect. However,
most would consider rice to be a
complement or side dish, as it’s consumed
with different foods like protein and
vegetables. Just look at the many Asian

cuisines that have rice as a staple.
Another argument is that it is less
nutritious. This is not actually true.
When you compare an analysis between
generic or popular brands of white rice

Imagevia via Analyn Latt

and brown rice, the nutritional difference

Twitch’s ‘Amazon Associates’

> What is it, and how will it affect the livestreaming service?

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

 

witch has recently announced

that they will be starting a new
associate program, as a means of
providing popular streamers with greater
sources of revenue, as well as attracting
new streamers to their service.

Twitch is a popular livestreaming
service used mostly for videogames. A
user has the ability to set up their own
account to either broadcast themselves,
watch other people broadcast, or both.
Each livestream is also equipped with
a live chat where viewers can interact
with one another as well as the person
they're watching. Twitch streams have
become a go-to for various independents
and corporations to promote their
games, preview gameplay, and connect
with their target demographic, but
at its heart, Twitch is user based.

This means that the majority of

the content is curated and created
individually by the people who have
set up channels, kind of like YouTube.
However, Twitch is a little more highly
monitored for inappropriate content.

Recently, Twitch announced the
creation of the Amazon Associates.
Essentially, this is a way of using the
streamers themselves as a marketing
tool. A user will broadcast themselves
playing a game, and if they’re an Amazon
Associate, a link will be provided for their
viewers to purchase the game through
Amazon, with five per cent of proceeds

going to the streamer. Amazon hopes that
doing this will help them compete with
the videogame digital distribution giant,
Steam—though, personally, I have my
doubts that Amazon will ever come close.
Feelings towards this announcement
have been mixed. On one hand, this acts
as a way of providing greater revenue
to online creators and personalities.
On the other, a program like this does
run the risk of making the community
seem less genuine. It becomes very

easy to imagine a streamer playing a
game that they don’t like, but simply
pretending they do for the profit that
would come from getting their audience
to buy it. Currently, beyond corporate
sponsorships or other outside influences,
there’s no real motivation for users to
do this within the Twitch community.
Another concern that has arisen is
how this will affect the other categories
of streams available on the website.
This includes “mukbangs,” where a user

 

is quite small. While it’s true that brown
rice has about a gram more protein and
fibre than white rice, when looking at the
big picture of one’s diet, this effect is so
tiny it might as well be non-existent.

If there is anything that makes one
superior over the other, it is that white rice
is better than brown rice in digestibility.
“White rice is digested more easily, in
terms of a lack of bloating, gas, cramps,
bowel problems like constipation, and
other such discomforts, than brown rice,”
wrote Barry Lumsden on RelentlessGains.
com. Thus, if you have a sensitive digestive
system, this definitely matters. A way to
find out is by trying to incorporate brown
rice into your meals for a few weeks within
your regular diet. When the sack of brown
rice is finished, start replacing brown rice
with white rice and see if you feel better.

So, what is the verdict? You will not
notice a significant difference between
the two grain types. In fact, if you really
want to either lose weight, build muscle,
or be healthier, then practice a healthy
diet by eating a balanced meal and
exercising. It’s the meals you consume
that matter, and not the type of rice.

Screenshot from Mass effect 4

will broadcast themselves eating and
chatting, or project-related broadcasts,
such as streams of people drawing

or working on something such as
cosplay or computer programming.

In the end, whether this program
succeeds or fails will be up to the
people creating the content. It is very
much in league with what Twitch has
already established itself as—a platform
for users to share experiences.