Are rice cakes really good for your diet? | The State

Photo:
Dana Tentis / Pixabay

The round puffed rice crackers swept America in the mid-1980s as trend among foods to lose weight. To this day they remain a low calorie crunchy choice.

The most basic rice crackers are just puffed rice and sometimes salt. Although, by themselves they do not have great flavor, due to their texture and being low in calories and fat, they are usually an option to replace other foods with more calorie content such as bread, as well as less healthy snacks, such as French fries and cookies.

Rice cakes made only with rice are also an option for those with celiac disease, since they do not contain gluten. As for the sodium content, it depends on whether they are rice crackers with salt.

How Nutritious Are Rice Crackers?

Rice crackers are not only low in calories, they don’t offer much nutritional value either. They have less than one gram of fiber and protein. Most of the calories come from carbohydrates.

These cookies they can go from 35 to 60 calories, the amount It depends if they are simple or have other ingredients for added flavor. They do not offer outstanding amounts of vitamins and minerals. The antioxidants also result diminished by the process of puffing rice.

White rice or brown rice crackers that are subjected to very high heat and pressure, causing the rice to expand like popcorn.

Very Well Fit explains that the rice and binder ingredients are expanded to fill round molds and spit out onto a conveyor belt to be sprinkled with flavors and additives. They are then packaged for mass distribution.

High glycemic index

Rice crackers have a high glycemic index (over 70) which is the how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels. By themselves they have too little protein and fiber to decrease the effect on the blood.

High glycemic index foods are not the best option for a person with diabetes. One of the side effects of high blood glucose is increased hunger.

Is the rice cracker better than whole wheat bread?

A rice cracker has fewer calories than a slice of whole wheat bread, but you are missing fiber and various nutrients, B vitamins, iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants and phytochemicals.

Bran and fiber slow down the breakdown of starch into glucose, thus maintaining a constant blood sugar level instead of causing sharp spikes.

Fiber helps lower cholesterol and move waste through the digestive tract. They also make you feel full and help lower calories.

Experts suggest that men consume about 38 grams of fiber a day and women about 25 grams, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports.

What is the best way to eat rice cakes?

Combine rice cakes with foods that provide protein and fiber. It will make them a nutritious, more filling snack that can balance the effect on blood sugar.

You can make combinations with foods such as: guacamole with cheese or guacamole with salmon or tuna; peanut butter and sliced ​​bananas or apples; hummus and sliced ​​cucumbers, tomatoes, or bell peppers; avocado and turkey; beans with radishes or avocado; and avocado with egg or chicken.

It may interest you: