White Rice: One of the Best Carbs for Athletes
Written by Bryce Smith
Are you a competitive CrossFit athlete looking for the extra edge? Are you striving to add pounds to your squats and Olympic lifts?
The answer may be as simple as adding more carbohydrates into your diet.
There are many carbohydrates that can be beneficial to hard charging warriors to help fuel workouts and facilitate recovery, but the one I will be talking about here today is white rice. As a disclaimer, if you have major body composition goals, are de-conditioned and/or overweight, white rice may not be the best choice. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, than white rice may be just as bad as cookies and chips; but for athletes with major performance goals and no body composition issues, it may be the golden ticket to strength and performance gains.
White rice gets a bad reputation because it is processed; however, in the case of competitive athletes, this is the one time where food processing may be beneficial to your health. Brown rice contains phytic acid which causes food allergy symptoms, gastrointestinal distress, and nutrient and mineral mal-absorption. The phytic acid that causes issues with digestion and nutrient absorption is located in the bran of the grain. The bran is removed during the food processing process of white rice which essentially changes that brown rice to white rice [1].
Once the bran is removed, you are left with an easily digestible starchy carbohydrate that can be great for athletes looking to replace glycogen stores post-workout and does not pose the risk of anti-nutrients which can cause intestinal inflammation and slow down recovery. White rice is a risk-free carbohydrate that can help to balance out the insulin and cortisol relationship by boosting glycogen stores without causing allergies, bloating, stomach distress, or other side effects of gluten, wheat, or other carb sources.
So if you are a competitive athlete, try adding in some white rice to your diet and make notes of any positive or negative effects in both your energy levels and your workout performances.
References
[1] Miyaki, Nate. “The Perfect Carb for Lifters.” The Perfect Carb for Lifters. Testosterone Nation, 26 May 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.