Michael Plant, crymad:
Just look at all those nasty fats we get from brown
rice -- between three and four times as much as from white rice.

Hey - those are GOOD fats.

... those who would have me eat this chewy muck.

Think of it as the textural equivalent of a single-tree Phoenix oolong as
compared with the insipid shallowness of stale Twinings that white-rice
mastication offers. Is it OK to discuss mastication here?

This whole brown vs. white rice thing has been bothering me. I recall
researching the topic in the past, and that's probably when I stopped
fretting about eating white rice. ... Any of you brown rice eaters
have any additional information that this comparison overlooks?

I live on brown rice, mostly, but that's because I like it. It's that chewy,
mucky texture - actually, it's mostly the rich flavor. I usually blend two
or three rices, often a basmati or other aromatic rice with some mochi or
short-grain to make it chopstickable and add sweetness. Most US "brown" rice
is really white rice that's slightly less polsihed: looks brownish, but all
the good stuff's gone - that nutrient chart wouldn't apply. I recommend
Lundberg if it's available there.

Real brown rice is pretty chewy, as Michael says, especially if incorrectly
prepared - which is common. (Following package directions for amount of
water and cooking time makes a product I wouldn't eat.) It's far more
nutritious, too. But for most first-worlders other than vegans, that's
irrelevant. Like the alleged health benefits of tea: who cares, if it tastes
good? It's a tiny factor compared with eating MacPoison, smoking cheap
cigars, or conceiving that commercial chocolate deserved the heavenly
appellation Theobroma.

-DM