1. How many calories does rice contain?

Most Vietnamese people have the habit of eating rice in their daily meals along with many other dishes such as meat, fish, and vegetables. White rice is considered the main ingredient for cooking rice, instead of brown rice and other popular types of rice.

On average, 1 bowl of rice (100g) contains about 130 calories (for white rice) along with many other nutrients such as:

• Fat: 0.3g
• Carbohydrates: 28.2g
• Protein: 2.7g
• Many minerals such as: 35mg potassium, 10mg calcium, 1mg sodium,…

In addition, if you eat each bowl of rice (also about 100g), the amount of calories provided to the body is 110 calories for brown rice, 357 calories for fried rice, and 627 calories for sticky rice.

2. Does eating rice make you fat?

According to recommendations from nutritionists, the body of an adult needs to be provided with 2,000 – 2,300 calories per day. It can be seen that with the habit of eating 3 meals a day of the majority of Vietnamese people, each meal the body needs about 667 – 767 calories.

As mentioned above, on average, 1 bowl of white rice usually provides about 130 calories, much lower than the recommended daily calorie intake. Some people even eat up to 3 bowls of white rice without getting fat (unless you eat a lot of other foods containing protein and fat).

However, the glycemic index (GI) of white rice is considered very high. Eating a lot of it can cause a spike in blood sugar levels after eating, affecting the glycemic index in people with diabetes as well as stimulating insulin to increase, easily causing unwanted weight gain in people who are already prone to gaining weight.

Therefore, you can eat 1-2 bowls of rice per meal, or if you happen to eat a lot in that meal, try to exercise to burn excess calories!

3. Should I choose brown rice or white rice?

The calorie content of brown rice (110 calories) is lower than that of white rice (130 calories) in each bowl of about 100g. At the same time, the GI of brown rice is at a medium level (ranging from 56 – 69), also lower than the GI of white rice (which is 73).

Therefore, if you want to lose weight or maintain an ideal weight and avoid increasing blood sugar levels after eating, choose brown rice in your daily meals.

In addition, the vitamin, mineral, and fiber content of brown rice is also highly regarded in terms of health because this type of rice still retains more bran layers than white rice.

Hopefully, you now know how many calories are in a bowl of rice, whether eating a lot of rice makes you fat, and which type of rice is good for weight loss. We wish you good health with this helpful information.