I don’t really take Mark Sisson seriously. He makes a lot of claims that can be backed up specifically, but he usually doesn’t do the leg work to back them up, and he’s made enough claims that I know to be verifiably false that I usually just ignore him[1]. He does suggest cutting grains of all kinds from our diet, but many of the problems he cites (insulin spikes) are remarkably different for different grains.
Google Books seems to have most of Good Calories, Bad Calories; searching within the book, there are 30 instances of the word rice; every one of those is either a quotation or Taubes specifically distinguishes between brown and white rice; in several places he implies that brown rice doesn’t cause the problems that white rice does.
All this is adding together to reinforce my degree of confidence in considering brown rice an acceptable food.
[1] In the second article of his you linked to, he links to the pop-science coverage of an unpublished paper, cites their reported findings, and then outright not only dismisses but outright contradicts their conclusions with his own personal interpretation of what he wants their findings to mean.
Taubes specifically distinguishes between brown and white rice; in several places he implies that brown rice doesn’t cause the problems that white rice does.
I believe brown rice has a lower glycemic index and glycemic load than white rice and it doesn’t have some of the other negatives of grains like wheat (gluten for example). It’s still high in carbs and low in nutrients relative to vegetables. It’s probably one of the least bad grains but it’s still something I prefer to avoid. Rice was pretty easy for me to give up anyway though, I never much liked it. The only thing I really miss is sushi / sushi rolls but I can still eat as much sashimi as I like so it’s not too bad.
I don’t really take Mark Sisson seriously. He makes a lot of claims that can be backed up specifically, but he usually doesn’t do the leg work to back them up, and he’s made enough claims that I know to be verifiably false that I usually just ignore him[1]. He does suggest cutting grains of all kinds from our diet, but many of the problems he cites (insulin spikes) are remarkably different for different grains.
Google Books seems to have most of Good Calories, Bad Calories; searching within the book, there are 30 instances of the word rice; every one of those is either a quotation or Taubes specifically distinguishes between brown and white rice; in several places he implies that brown rice doesn’t cause the problems that white rice does.
All this is adding together to reinforce my degree of confidence in considering brown rice an acceptable food.
[1] In the second article of his you linked to, he links to the pop-science coverage of an unpublished paper, cites their reported findings, and then outright not only dismisses but outright contradicts their conclusions with his own personal interpretation of what he wants their findings to mean.
I believe brown rice has a lower glycemic index and glycemic load than white rice and it doesn’t have some of the other negatives of grains like wheat (gluten for example). It’s still high in carbs and low in nutrients relative to vegetables. It’s probably one of the least bad grains but it’s still something I prefer to avoid. Rice was pretty easy for me to give up anyway though, I never much liked it. The only thing I really miss is sushi / sushi rolls but I can still eat as much sashimi as I like so it’s not too bad.