What rice, grains, noodles and pastas taste best and are best for health?
When it comes to our diet, rice, grains, noodles and pasta are a large staple carbohydrate source required for energy for most of us. Yet few know which are best for our health. This is dependent on the carbohydrate, protein, fibre and fat content, the glycaemic index (the effect of the carbohydrate on our blood sugar and insulin levels), the vitamin and mineral profile and the level of processing of each product. What is most important is serving size, with this tailored to your personal age, activity level and health status and a portion being a fist size for the average person, or 125g cooked and 70g uncooked. It is also to ensure that the carbohydrates are served in a meal with complete (meat, fish or dairy) proteins vegetables and fibre to help maintain a balanced diet. Also try to avoid ultra-processed varieties of anything and serve your carbs in meals with insulin sensitizers such as omega3s and plant bioactive compounds phytochemicals or polyphenols (which also improve heart, brain and metabolic health) vegetables, herbs and spices instead of sugary or salty sauces and with muscle forming proteins such as meat, nuts, dairy, fish or collagen.
Best for health and flavour
- For health go wholegrain, brown not white. Just because it’s brown does not mean it’s wholegrain. ALWAYS check the ingredients. Wholegrain. Wholewheat. The entire grain or most of it. The wholegrain contains the aleurone layer of the grain, where most of the iron and B vitamins are. This layer is removed from the grain in processing to make white rice. The iron and B vitamins help to convert the carbohydrates in the rice, noodles, grains, or pasta efficiently into energy, meaning you get more sustained energy from the product. Brown rice is also higher in protein and fibre and so has a lower glycemic index and therefore it causes less of a high glucose spike than white rice. The higher the glucose spike, the more insulin hormone is released to reduce the spike, and therefore the quicker the glucose low. When your blood glucose I low you feel tired, irritable, hungry, and less focused and therefore maintaining blood glucose in range is essential. Brown rice causes fewer spikes and troughs in blood sugar.
2) Wild rice, red rice and black rice are great as they are high in fibre which helps to prebiotically feed the gut microbiota, which helps reduce inflammation and improve our immune system and brain health. They are also high in plant bioactive compounds called polyphenols which help to improve insulin sensitivity. Serving this rice in a meal with omega3 such as with fish and polyphenol-rich herbs and spices and vegetables can also improve insulin sensitivity.
3) Parboiled rice. Many people are anti-microwave or stir-fried at-home rice packets. Yet this rice is not only super convenient as it cooks in minutes, but is pre-portioned into 250g 2 serving bags, which prevents food waste or under or over-consumption, but can be good for your health. Parboiled rice is cooked, cooled, and then reheated by you in your home. This cooking, cooling and reheating causes a process called starch retrogradation where the food shifts from unresistant to resistant starch which lowers the glycaemic index and the blood glucose response, helping you have more energy and improving your insulin sensitivity. Most are also gluten-free and so are lower carbohydrate content. The best options are wholegrain, brown, or wild basmati rice packets, without added salts. Some of these (many supermarket varieties) taste like cardboard, yet Tilda wholegrain basmati rice packets taste great and are around 25–40g fibre a serving (2 pieces of bread or less), especially the pilau rice which comes with added cumin seeds, fenugreek, acacia fibre and sunflower oil which adds flavour, polyphenols, health monounsaturated fats and fibre.
4) The best weight loss options are those super low in carbohydrates such as Konjac flour noodles and rice which contain only 3g carbohydrate per serving. Barenaked noodles and Bulk sell these in the UK.
5) Avoid Thai sticky or sushi rice as this is not only white rice but contains fish sauce which is a sugary sauce so it causes havoc with your blood sugar. It is also called glutinous rice as it is very high in gluten which can cause inflammation in many.
6) Avoid coconut rice as this is again white rice which has a very high glycemic index. It also has added saturated fats from coconut cream and desiccated coconut.
7) Jasmine rice has the same nutritional profile as white basmati rice with the same effects on blood sugar, decreased insulin sensitivity and increased appetite. Stick to wholegrain jasmine rice if you have jasmine rice.
8) Choose egg noodles over rice noodles and wholewheat if possible. Rice noodles (unless brown or wholegrain) have like white rice, had the aleurone grain layer removed (so they have lost most of the B vitamins, magnesium and iron) and contain egg which adds both protein (lowering the blood glucose effect) and choline (which is good for our brain health) as well as healthy monounsaturated fats which help reduce inflammation. Thai restaurants and Chinese restaurants rarely serve brown or wild rice or noodles, so cooking at home is important to check the menu ahead of attending a restaurant.
9) Choose thin noodles over udon noodles as these are thinner and contain less gluten. Go for brown rice over noodles if there are none on the menu and watch out for monosodium glutamate in broths such as Chinese Ramen and Tom Yum Thai soups. This umami-tasting additive is pro-inflammatory and stimulates the taste buds and brain to think it has had protein, which if it does not, increases the craving for protein and appetite. This is similar to many low-sugar and carbohydrate options high in sweeteners these stimulate the taste buds and brain to think it has had sugar, which when it does not, increases the appetite for sugary things. They can also both cause initial appetite suppression (especially aspartame) and hyper-activity impact sleep and focus negatively and cause rebound in increased appetite (especially sucralose) and extreme fatigue.
10) Choose pasta or noodles made of peanut or almond flour, not durum (semolina) flour or made from squash, peas or edamame as these are lower in carbohydrates and contain more plant polyphenols and fibre for the gut. Lentil and chickpea varieties are equally high in carbohydrates as these plants are high carbohydrate plants but contain slightly more protein.
11) Quinoa is a high-protein carbohydrate, that is also gluten-free and therefore can cause less inflammation for those intolerant to gluten. The protein also causes less of a high glucose spike than white rice, noodles, and durum wheat. Pearl barley, farro and Sorghum are similar to quinoa in this sense, and they are also high-fibre.
12) Both couscous and orzo are made of the same ingredients as pasta, durum wheat semolina, therefore do not be fooled into thinking you are having a healthier meal than pasta when you eat these. However, if portioned correctly and served with protein and vegetables, pasta contains a decent protein profile and therefore causes less of a glucose spike than white rice. However, aim for the wholewheat or wholegrain brown variety to get all the benefits of the wheat. Pasta can be a part of a healthy balanced diet.
Rule of thumb. Go wholegrain. It costs the same (unless you want a treat like with Leon's posh and utterly delish variety) and the wholegrain varieties often taste less stodgy (less gluten) and more nutty and delicious than the plain white dull rices and pastas do. Health benefits do not have to come at a cost to flavour. Just make the right health and flavour choices. Overall- enjoy! Carbs are an essential part of our diet, needed for brain and body health.
Copyright Laura Campbell 30/01/2024
