Is Brown Rice Allowed on the Keto Diet
Rice is one of the few foods that go with almost anything. You can make risotto and eat it as a main dish, you can make it sweet with cinnamon and milk and make a rice pudding, you can add herbs to it or you can keep it plain. You can add it to other dishes or serve it as a side dish with meat or other food or you can mix it with veggies and make a rice salad.
- Rice Nutritional Information
- Rice Glycemic Index (GI) Value
- Is Rice Healthy?
- Can You Eat Rice On The Keto Diet?
Rice is cooked in so many ways and it's so popular in many different cuisines such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Thai, etc… You can pretty much find rice dishes in many restaurants.
It is understandable why someone on the keto diet would want to know if it is ketogenic and if it will prevent them from getting or staying in ketosis. To find out everything you need to know, keep on reading.
Rice Nutritional Information
There are many types of rice including arborio rice, basmati rice, black rice, white rice, jasmine rice, brown rice, sticky rice, etc… For the record, we'll discuss the nutrition facts of brown rice vs white rice since they are more popular.
Here is the nutritional information on 100 grams of medium-grained cooked white rice, and 100 grams of cooked brown rice. (*), (*)
| Types of rice | White rice | Brown rice |
| Calories | 130 kcal | 122 kcal |
| Fat | 0.28 grams | 0.96 grams |
| Protein | 2.67 grams | 2.73 grams |
| Total Carbs | 28 grams | 25.45 grams |
| Fiber | 0.4 grams | 1.6 grams |
| Net Carbs | 27.6 grams | 23.85 grams |
Rice Glycemic Index (GI) Value
Glycemic index (GI) is a relative ranking given to food that ranges from 0 to 100, with pure glucose at 100, and corresponds to how much the blood glucose raises two hours after consuming the food.
The GI of boiled white rice is 73 ± 4, and the GI of boiled brown rice is 68 ± 4 which means that both white and brown rice are high GI foods. (*)
Is Rice Healthy?
Rice is an easily digestible food that is naturally gluten-free and low in fiber, therefore it is recommended for those who have gluten intolerance or other digestive issues such as Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, as well as nausea, heartburn, vomiting and for those recovering from procedures that affect the digestive tract.
Nutrition-wise, rice has a good percentage of micronutrients such as vitamin B6, niacin (vitamin B3), manganese, selenium, and phosphorus. But, what is most concerning is the number of carbs that rice contains and its high GI.
Eating foods that have a high GI (GI of more than 70), increases the risks of multiple chronic conditions and diseases, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. One study that included studies of over 300 000 people showed that those who regularly ate white rice had an increased risk for type 2 diabetes. (*)
When comparing white rice and brown rice, one study done in the United States on 39,765 men and 157,463 women showed that there are different rates of risk of diabetes type 2 depending on if the person consumes white or brown rice and it showed that brown rice reduces the risk for 16%. (*)
Can You Eat Rice On The Keto Diet?
Rice is a starchy food that mainly contains carb. Just by looking at the table with the nutritional information, you can see that 100 grams of both cooked white rice and brown rice have more than the whole daily carb intake for a strict keto dieter.
100 gram serving of white rice has 27.6 grams of net carbs, while brown rice comes at a little lower than that at 23.8 grams.
Both have a high glycemic index at 73 ± 4 for white rice and 68 ± 4 for brown rice which means that both cause a rapid blood sugar spike after they are ingested that can prevent you from getting into ketosis or it can stop ketosis if you are already in it.
Therefore, rice is too high in carbs and causes a rapid spike in blood sugar for it to be ketogenic, so it is not recommended to consume it if you are on the keto diet, especially if you are doing strict keto.
If you are on a general low carb diet and you just want to fit rice into your daily carb limit, then make sure you watch the amount you consume. For reference one serving of rice ranges from about 150 grams to 200 grams (5.2 oz to 7 oz), so 100 grams of rice is just a half serving.
Alternatively, you should try these low carb rice substitutes.
Bottom line
Is rice keto-friendly?
No, rice is not keto-friendly as it is a starchy food mainly composed of carbs.
How many net carbs are in cooked rice?
In 100 grams of cooked white rice, there are 27.6 grams of net carbs, and in brown rice, there are 23.8 grams of net carbs.
Conclusion
Both white rice and brown rice have too many carbs and a GI that is too high to be keto-friendly and they are not recommended for those who are on a strict keto diet as both can prevent ketosis from starting or kick you out of it if you already are in ketosis.
If you are not on a keto diet, and you want to fit rice in your daily carbs, then we recommend carefully monitoring the amount you consume. And in this case, brown rice may be a better choice.
Up Next: Can you eat corn on keto diet?
Is Brown Rice Allowed on the Keto Diet
Source: https://www.ketoasap.com/eating-rice-on-ketogenic-diet/