Athletes still prefer white rice over brown

White rice may get a “bad rap” in general but for athletes and weight lifters, they are passing their bowls and asking for the chopsticks. The goal of the athlete and lifter is supplying adequate amounts of macronutrients to fuel extreme training and replenish severely depleted glycogen stores. It can feel like a full-time job for athletes to beef up athletic performance during physical training and replenish muscle glycogen stores long after the workout with carbohydrates.

If you want to make a lifter happy after a hard workout, hand them a bowl of white rice stacked with grilled chicken breast. According to the Journal of Sports Sciences, “Carbohydrate-rich foods with a moderate to high glycemic index provide a readily available source of carbohydrate for muscle glycogen synthesis, and should be the major carbohydrate choices in recovery meals.” And white rice just so happens to rank high on the glycemic index, which is a score given to how foods affect blood sugar and insulin levels.

Why white rice? Wise athletes and lifters recognise the high glycemic value of white rice to provide quick fuel for hard workouts and facilitate muscle recovery. Unlike brown rice, white rice does not come with drawbacks of gastrointestinal (GI) issues, allergy symptoms, and blocking the ability to absorb micronutrients.  

Brown rice and other whole grains contain phytic acid (phytate), an anti-nutrient that binds to essential minerals like iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium and prevents our body from absorbing them. Since phytic acid is located in the bran of the grain, the milling process used to change brown rice to white rice removes the phytate.

This is probably one of the only times where refining a food potentially has positive value and especially for carb hungry lifters wanting to refuel.

Source: www.sportsnutrition.about.com

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