But I wanted to have a better, more meaningful answer that is more convincing and one which helps people not only understand why brown rice is better but also an answer that would convince even the skeptics to switch to brown rice. 

So, let’s get down to basics: Brown rice IS white rice; only white rice is processed; So much so that the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) requires white rice to be fortified with vitamins: thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, iron and folic acid. The bran is removed from brown rice and white rice is usually parboiled or precooked.  Most people like white rice because it has no real flavor of its own and it is able to take on the flavors of anything that it is paired with.  White rice also cooks faster. 

Brown rice is rice with only the husk removed.  Everything else is kept intact, including the bran (containing fiber), and nutrients, i.e. manganese, magnesium, zinc and Vitamin E. 

There are some drawbacks to all natural brown rice:  

1. Its shelf life is only ~6 months.  After learning this fact, I realized why I could never find a 20lb bag of brown rice, but I could very easily find a 20lb bag of white rice.  
2. Brown rice has a nut-like flavor, which may not go with everything.  
3. Brown rice is chewier than white rice and take a little more effort to eat.  
4. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice.  You may notice that you need to add more water to the cooker and give brown rice more time to cook. 

Some white rice advocates say that brown rice has arsenic in it.  This is a known fact; that all rice, brown or white has arsenic in it.  Brown rice has ~160 parts per billion inorganic arsenic per serving and infant rice cereal has 120 parts per billion per serving.  Rice wine has the lowest level of arsenic, 11parts per billion per serving.  These numbers are what the FDA released in 2013 according the article in USA Today, “FDA tests find very low levels of arsenic in rice”, September 6, 2013.  But don’t let arsenic in rice scare you away from eating rice all together.  Even drinking water has arsenic in it and the EPA has a restriction on drinking water to 10 parts per billion of arsenic per serving.  But remember, we drink water many times a day. 

Over the years there has been more and more research done on rice, since an article in the British Medical Journal titled, “White rice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis and systematic review”(BMJ 2012;344:e1454) found that, “Higher consumption of white rice is associated with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in Asian (Chinese and Japanese) populations”.  

This same finding was echoed by a study done from the Harvard School of Public Health, which showed that white rice has a higher glycemic index than brown rice.  Your glycemic index or GI is a measure of how quickly your body converts carbohydrates to glucose and raises blood glucose levels, and ranges from 0-100.  The higher the glycemic index, the more easily digested the food is and the more easily it is absorbed by the body, increasing blood glucose levels.  Therefore, carbohydrates with low glycemic indices carry a lower risk of diabetes type 2. Fiber also helps to lower the glycemic index.  Remember that brown rice has bran, which contains a high dose of fiber.  Fiber slows down the speed at which carbohydrates are converted into sugars, thereby lowering the glycemic index. 

Now, as an Asian Indian rice consumer myself, I know that there are more than one type of rice. In fact, there are 235 types of rice around the world.  And each has its very own glycemic index.  The GI of rice varies from a low of 48 to a high of 92!  There is a non-profit International Rice Research Institute, believe it or not. They were founded on December 9, 1959 by the Ford Foundation and the Rockerfeller Foundation and they are headquartered in Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines). Recently this Institute identified a gene called the “waxy gene”, which is a gene that determines the glycemic index of rice.  This was published in the Journal “Rice” in June 2011, Vol.4, Issue.2,pp.66-74.  Research into the glycemic index of carbohydrates will dramatically affect what types of rice we consume. 

If you have diabetes and are on a stricter diet you need to be aware of what type of rice you are consuming and know its glycemic index.  Carbohydrates with a lower glycemic index are always better for you.

LET’S SUM THIS ALL UP! 

Remember that long grain rice has a lower glycemic index than short grain rice; and brown rice has a lower glycemic index than white rice.  Remember that brown rice is more natural and has many more natural nutrients as well as bran which white rice does not have. White rice has nutrients as well, however these nutrients are fortified, or artificially added to the rice before they get to us, the consumer.  White rice also has a high glycemic index. 

So, the next time someone asks me why I eat brown rice now and not white rice, I’ll be able to teach them a thing or two and maybe even convince them to switch over, like we did.  Why not eat what nature intended! 

The post Should I Eat Brown Rice Instead of White Rice? appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Recently, there has been much talk about soy and how it affects the thyroid gland.  Some people say that eating soy is harmful to the thyroid and can cause hypothyroidism. 

Your thyroid is really a gland in your neck and it produces hormones that help to regulate your body’s metabolism, as well as the amount of Calcium in your blood.  

HYPERTHYROIDISM:

Hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid gland is overactive and produces too much thyroid hormone.  The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is autoimmune; it’s when the body’s immune system attacks its own thyroid gland tissue, causing it to produce large amounts of hormone.  This is most common in women between age 20-40 years.  One of the most noticeable physical signs is a goiter, or an enlarged thyroid.  Some of the other physical signs of hyperthyroidism include tremors, moist skin, and patchy hair loss.

HYPOTHYROIDISM:

If the thyroid gland is underactive  and not enough hormones are produced, we are diagnosed with hypothyroidism.  The most common cause of hypothyroidism is iodine deficiency.  Hypothyroidism can also occur if the thyroid gland is damaged and not able to make enough of the hormone.  This is called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  Some of the physical signs of hypothyroidism are: increased tiredness, muscle weakness, loss of body hair, especially the eyebrows, weight gain and depression.  

Now that we have our definitions of Thyroiditis, or Thyroid Disease, let’s talk about hypothyroidism and why some people say that eating soy can cause hypothyroidism. 

What these people may be talking about is this: If you already have hypothyroidism and you are taking a thyroid hormone medication as a treatment, then eating soy can interfere with the absorption of thyroid medication.  Most doctors recommend taking thyroid medication on an empty stomach and to wait one hour before eating.  And this advice is given because there are many foods and supplements that can interfere with the thyroid medication.  Other foods/supplements that can impair the absorption of thyroid medication are: calcium, iron, and cholesterol drugs.  Many doctors will advise patients to take the medication before eating anything to avoid any interference with the thyroid medication.  

There is no evidence out there to suggest that soy can directly cause thyroid disease, or that soy directly affects the thyroid in any way.  On the other hand, in the Journal, Nutrients 2013, (5(11):4642-4652); Tonstad S, Nathan E, Oda K, Fraser G. Vegan Diets and Hypothyroidism), research was done to show that a “Vegan diet tended to be associated with lower, not higher risk of hypothyroid disease.”

Since the most common cause of hypothyroidism is iodine deficiency, an iodine-rich diet, like sea-vegetables, i.e. seaweed such as kelp, nori, wakame and arame are perfect.  They are all rich in iodine, protein, calcium, Vitamin A, some B Vitamins, and lignans.  Lignans are known protect against cancer.  Sea-vegetables are often used to treat a goiter. In Okinawa, Japan, the life expectancy is the longest in the world.  This is mostly due to a diet rich in seaweed.  

Once again, research shows that a vegan diet is beneficial in more ways than one.  Cheers to all the Vegans out there!  

The post What Does Soy Have to do With Your Thyroid? appeared first on Chic Vegan.

The cashew nut actually comes from a fruit called the cashew apple which grows on the cashew tree. The cashew apple is quite an interesting site to see. The cashew apple looks like an inverted heart-shaped fruit. It hangs from the cashew tree and the cashew nut is encased in a shell which is actually attached to the bottom of the fruit, just outside of the fruit. Most nuts are inside the fruit itself, but not in the case of the cashew nut.

The cashew tree was native only to South America, but over the last few centuries, it has travelled all over the world, brought by European travelers. The Portuguese first brought the fruit to India and to Africa in the 16th century. But its true popularity only emerged in the 20th century. Today, only 5 countries are the leading producers of cashews: India, Brazil, Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria.

FACTS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT CASHEW NUTS:

1. Cashew nuts contain 75% mono-unsaturated fatty acids; of which, 75% is oleic acid, which is the same fat found in olive oil.
2. Cashews have a naturally occurring phytochemical called anacardic acid. This is a type of fatty acid or lipid that has anti-inflammatory properties. Studies done with anacardic acid show it to have anti-cancer properties as well, especially in breast cancer, prostate cancer, and in pituitary tumors. Anacardic acid also has anti-bacterial properties and is used to treat some types of tooth abscesses caused by specific types of bacteria.
3. Cashew nuts also are high in proanthocyanidins, a type of polyphenols, which are anti-oxidants. The polyphenols scavenge free radicals, which helps to stop cancer cells from dividing. In a recent article published in March 2011 (called “Effect of Roasting on Phenolic Content and Anti-oxidant activities of whole cashew nuts, kernels and testa” by Chandrasekara N, Shahidi F at the Memorial University of New Foundland, in Canada), the researchers found that roasting actually enhances the antioxidant activity of cashew nuts. If you are planning on roasting your cashews, they should not be overheated, since this would destroy these healthy oils. They should be roasted at 160-170 degrees F (75 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes only.
4.  Cashews also contain: copper, manganese, tryptophan, magnesium, and phosphorous. All of these protect the heart, bones, blood vessels, and the brain.
5. When buy cashew nuts make sure to store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They will stay for 6 months in the fridge and for 12 months in the freezer. Cashew butter should always be refrigerated.

Since cashew nuts don’t have a distinct taste, you can grind them up and sprinkle them onto most anything. Or you can grind them, add water to them and make it into a paste to add to any meal. It’s a great way to add a super food into your diet, and you won’t even notice it!

The post Go Nuts: All About Cashews appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Over the last few years, I’ve added almonds, walnuts, and occasionally cashew nuts. Each nut comes either plain or coated with various additives, like honey or spices, etc.. Each nut gives my salad it’s very own personality. I looked forward to savoring each new taste.

Just the other day, I was in my local farmer’s market and I took a walk down the N-U-T Aisle. I found that there were even MORE nuts than I had ever thought. My psyche was actually ready to notice other types of nuts and I could not believe the variety. There were pine nuts… pistachios… peanuts….brazil nuts… and even soy bean halves!

But getting back to pecans; they are my favorite by far and that’s purely a personal preference. But I did my research and found out some interesting facts about pecans and…

The Five Most Important Reasons to Eat a Handful of Pecans Everyday!

1. Pecans rank among the top anti-oxidant foods (According to an article in the “Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry”, June 2004); They have a naturally occurring antioxidant, Vitamin E. Pecans, being a natural anti-oxidant help to protect against cell damage, and help to protect the nervous system against diseases such as Alzeihmier’s, Parkinson’s and ALS (or Lou Gherig’s Disease).
2. Pecans are a high quality source of protein!
3. They’re naturally sodium free.
4. They are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (60%), which means that they increases HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol); The American Heart Association certifies pecans as a Heart Healthy Food!
5. They are rich in vitamins ( Vitamin E; Vitamin B’s i.e.Thiamine, B6, Folate and Niacin) and minerals (i.e. Manganese, Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Selenium, and Zinc).

I hope all of you will join me in my N-U-T Addiction. Just add a handful of pecans to your diet every day!!

The post N-U-T-S: About Pecans! appeared first on Chic Vegan.