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Nutritionists agree: nothing is easier to digest than a plate of rice

Nutritionists agree: nothing is easier to digest than a plate of rice

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Nutritionist Diego Sívori states that rice is one of the easiest foods to digest.
  • He recommends white rice over brown rice for easier digestion and notes that pasta is similarly digestible.
  • Sívori debunks myths about food temperature and calories, explaining how the body processes them.

Nutritionist Diego Sívori has debunked common dietary myths, highlighting rice as exceptionally easy to digest. Contrary to the belief that carbohydrates are difficult to process, Sívori explained that rice is among the most digestible foods available.

Many say that, being a carbohydrate, it is very difficult to digest, when in reality the opposite happens. There is nothing easier to digest than a plate of rice.

— Diego SívoriExplaining the digestibility of rice.

He specifically recommends white rice over its brown counterpart for optimal digestibility. Sívori extended this principle to pasta, emphasizing that the ease of digestion for both rice and pasta is often complicated by their accompaniments, such as cheese, sauces, and processed meats.

For obtaining these results, it is better to consume white rice than brown.

— Diego SívoriRecommending white rice for easier digestion.

Sívori also addressed misconceptions about food temperature and calorie content. He clarified that consuming food hot does not inherently mean it is high in calories, nor does cold food mean it is low in calories. Using ice cream as an example, he noted that while it is cold, its consumption results in significant caloric intake. The body converts only about 30% of ice cream's calories into energy, with the remaining 70% contributing to body heat, thus debunking the idea that ice cream is refreshing.

Eating hot does not mean eating high-calorie. And eating cold does not mean eating low-calorie.

— Diego SívoriClarifying the relationship between food temperature and calorie content.

Further challenging popular beliefs, Sívori identified ice cream, beer, and potato chips as three commonly consumed items that, despite being perceived as refreshing or desirable, actually generate body heat. He singled out French fries as particularly addictive due to their combination of carbohydrates, fats, and crispiness, which stimulates pleasure centers in the brain. He also noted that alcoholic beverages with color, such as aperitifs, tend to cause more severe hangovers.

Three great myths are that ice cream, a small beer, or a bag of chips refreshes you. Possibly they are the three things most consumed, for example, during the summer, and all three generate heat.

— Diego SívoriDebunking the refreshing quality of popular summer treats.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.