Why Asian Rice Diets Do Not Cause Degenerative Diseases? page

[westes]

One of the nutritional assumptions of most Paleo promoters appears to be that grains that came out of the agricultural revolution promote large carbohydrate overload. Wheat, corn, rice, oats, etc all seem to become glucose very rapidly in the gut. This stimulates large insulin responses. The sugar gets converted to the worst kind of VLDL fat. Heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and maybe cancer all seem to correlate with these kinds of diets.

My question is why do Asian cultures that eat primarily rice based grain diets not seem to suffer from degenerative Western diseases? Assuming the general nutritional theory behind Paleo is correct, then is maybe rice somehow different than other grains? Are there other factors that can explain away why Japanese who eat rice and fish largely avoid heart disease?

[js290]

My question is why do Asian cultures that eat primarily rice based grain diets not seem to suffer from degenerative Western diseases?

That's begging the question.

[westes]

That's begging the question.

I don't understand your point.

[magicmerl]

I think that this really comes down to the health differences between eating wheat vs eating rice.

Wheat is the worst cereal by a significant margin because of the other bad things it has going on, not purely because it is a carbohydrate. Wheatbelly is a blog devoted to the evils of just wheat, and I recommend you preuse it. The main problem is gluten (specifically, the gliadin) that does all sorts of bad things. It stimulates appetite, punches holes in your intestines and has a generally inflammatory effect that your body does not enjoy.

Rice on the other hand is just carbohydrates. Which are fine, as long as you don't eat them to excess (i.e. in balance with the meat and veggies, not as the major part of your meal).

[Knifegill]

Gee. I don't know.









They are usually glycogen depleted before they eat it? And all the junk they aren't eating. Remember that rice is one of the better grains. Way better than GMO Round-Up ready hybrid dwarf wheat.

[Apex Predator]

One of the nutritional assumptions of most Paleo promoters appears to be that grains that came out of the agricultural revolution promote large carbohydrate overload. Wheat, corn, rice, oats, etc all seem to become glucose very rapidly in the gut. This stimulates large insulin responses. The sugar gets converted to the worst kind of VLDL fat. Heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and maybe cancer all seem to correlate with these kinds of diets.

My question is why do Asian cultures that eat primarily rice based grain diets not seem to suffer from degenerative Western diseases? Assuming the general nutritional theory behind Paleo is correct, then is maybe rice somehow different than other grains? Are there other factors that can explain away why Japanese who eat rice and fish largely avoid heart disease?

Many(most?) people on here who are not VLC eat some amount of white rice. While it is technically a grain, it doesn't really have the toxins most grains do.

[Owly]

I am eating a little pre-gym white rice as I type this. Mmmmm...starch.

[westes]

I think that this really comes down to the health differences between eating wheat vs eating rice.

Wheat is the worst cereal by a significant margin because of the other bad things it has going on, not purely because it is a carbohydrate. Wheatbelly is a blog devoted to the evils of just wheat, and I recommend you preuse it. The main problem is gluten (specifically, the gliadin) that does all sorts of bad things. It stimulates appetite, punches holes in your intestines and has a generally inflammatory effect that your body does not enjoy.

Rice on the other hand is just carbohydrates. Which are fine, as long as you don't eat them to excess (i.e. in balance with the meat and veggies, not as the major part of your meal).

MagicMerl, I accept that wheat is inflammatory and has autoimmune issues. But I also thought that a major part of Paleo was a low carbohydrate diet, because of the damage caused by high glucose and insulin. The Asian result seems to contradict that.

Does anyone have statistics on what percentage of calories comes from carbohydrates (of all kinds) in a traditional Asian diet that avoids Western processed foods?

[Owly]

Oh hey, can we have another carb war thread? Because those are awesome. </snarkiness>

[Apex Predator]

MagicMerl, I accept that wheat is inflammatory and has autoimmune issues. But I also thought that a major part of Paleo was a low carbohydrate diet, because of the damage caused by high glucose and insulin. The Asian result seems to contradict that.

Does anyone have statistics on what percentage of calories comes from carbohydrates (of all kinds) in a traditional Asian diet that avoids Western processed foods?

It was. I think most primal/paleo/whatevers, especially the young and healthy, are evolving towards macronutrient neutrality.