Nowadays, there are a lot of diets to lose weight and many of them recommend the restriction of carbohydrates, especially at dinner time. It is important to be very careful with this type of advice, since in most situations eliminating carbohydrates from the diet is neither recommended nor healthy.
According to the World Health Organization, the daily amount of carbohydrates that is included within a balanced diet should be between 55% and 65% of the total intake. But it is essential to know that there are different types of carbohydrates and to know which are the most recommended for a healthy diet. From we explain if it is advisable that you include rice (and other hydrates) in your dinner if your goal is not to gain weight; read on to find out the answer to: is it fattening to eat rice at night?
What carbohydrates to eat at night
To know if you can eat rice at night, it is first important to know the difference between the types of carbohydrates. On the one hand, there are simple carbohydrates, which are those whose structure is composed of one or two sugars. On the other hand, there are the complexes, composed of three sugars or more.
What does this mean? There is not only a difference in composition, this also affects its nutritional and digestion characteristics. The simple ones are digested very quickly, so they practically do not satiate and, in addition, they are refined sugars that do not have much nutritional value and, therefore, do not provide the nutrients that are needed. On the contrary, it takes more time to digest the complexes, so they have more satiating capacity and their content in nutrients such as vitamins and fiber is much higher.
In general, simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as pastries, cookies, cereals, and processed juices. Also, in fruit and white flours. The complexes are in vegetables, legumes and whole grains. What is interesting in a healthy diet is to eliminate all carbohydrates that provide few nutrients and a lot of fat, that is, all those processed foods.
Expand this information by consulting the article What is the best time to eat carbohydrates.
Is it good to eat rice at night? – does it get fat?
Taking rice or another type of carbohydrate at night does not increase our body weight, as long as the amount and type of carbohydrate consumed is controlled. It is true that if the goal of the diet is not to gain weight or lose weight, it is not advisable to take large amounts of rice, pasta or any carbohydrate. Why? Sugars, especially simple ones, accumulate if they are not used, so if you are not going to perform any activity after dinner, they will not be used and will accumulate.
On the other hand, if you choose a whole-grain rice, composed of complex carbohydrates, and control the amount is very beneficial for health and even to avoid gaining weight. First of all, it has a high nutritional content such as minerals, vitamins and fiber. Secondly, it is advisable to comply with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and achieve that minimum of 55% of daily carbohydrate intake. And finally, being a complex carbohydrate, thanks to its satiating capacity, it helps to combat those binges that can occur the next day.
How to include rice in the last meal of the day
To prevent including rice in dinner from causing an increase in body weight, there are several recommendations. First, it is convenient that it is a brown rice as explained above and, in addition, it is recommended that the amount does not exceed 60 grams. If preferred, you can exchange it for the same amount of pasta or for a piece of bread, both whole grains as well.
The rest of the foods that accompany rice are essential. Better with proteins such as chicken, white fish or eggs, in addition to adding any type of cooked or raw vegetable. In this way, foods with a high nutritional value are increased and a feeling of satiety is added to dinner without practically increasing calorie intake.
