Is it necessary to cut out sugar to lose weight? Japanese nutritionist explains the myths and teaches you how to cook delicious multi-grain rice

In recent years, many women have actively tried the popular "sugar-free diet" and "low-carbohydrate" weight loss methods, but have they really "successfully" lost weight? Many people fall into the myth that "eating will make you fat", and believe that the culprit for obesity is not only "sweets" but also "rice"! In order to dispel the myth, we must first understand the difference between "sugar" and "carbohydrates"!

In nutrition, "sugar" and "dietary fiber" are collectively referred to as "carbohydrates." In addition to staple foods such as "rice, bread, and pasta", foods high in "carbohydrates" also include "sweet potatoes, fruits, and sugar". The dietary fiber content of these foods varies, and even sugar contains no dietary fiber at all.

People who think that "eating will make you fat" usually believe that "eating a bowl of rice = eating 10 sugar cubes" and that's why they gain weight. But in fact, converting the sugar content of different foods is meaningless, because the carbohydrates taken from white rice or sugar work completely differently in the human body.

Have you ever been troubled by "getting fat from eating carbohydrates"? That's because people don't eat "burnable carbohydrates" correctly. "Carbohydrates" are rich in nutrients and can effectively convert energy. If you can consume carbohydrates "correctly", you can exert excellent fat-burning power. In order to help the carbohydrates in the body be completely "digested, absorbed, and metabolized" and converted into calories, "enzymes, minerals, and vitamins" are indispensable. However, the "white rice" or "white bread" that we usually eat contains almost no such nutrients. Therefore, if you often eat processed "refined rice" and "flour" and other "unburnable carbohydrates", you will get fatter and fatter!

People who think that the "sugar-free diet" is effective are because they gained weight after eating "unburnable carbohydrates" and they mistakenly believe that all "sugars" will make you fat! Please establish the correct concept: it is not about "not eating carbohydrates", but replacing "non-burnable carbohydrates" with "burnable carbohydrates".

As long as you soak it in water beforehand, you can cook delicious multi-grain rice!

Multi-grain rice does not require any special cooking methods. Just add whole grains to the washed white rice and cook it in the usual way. Cooking is easy with an electric rice cooker. It doesn't matter if you wash the grains or not, I usually rinse them once with water.

The key to cooking delicious and easily digestible multi-grain rice is to "soak it in water thoroughly". Some mixed grains sold on the market also contain beans. If they are not fully soaked in water, the cooked rice will be slightly hard and it will be difficult to get a soft texture, so special attention must be paid.

In addition, please do not use the "Quick Cook Mode" and use the normal cooking mode instead. It takes longer for water to penetrate into the center of brown rice, purple rice, and red rice than white rice, so you won't be able to make fluffy rice using the quick cook mode.

Some people also said that "although they changed to eating mixed grain rice, their bowel movements did not become smoother." Upon inquiry, it was found that the reason was that the white rice and mixed grains were not "soaked in water" at all. If you have worked hard to eat nutritious multi-grain rice but it is not completely digested and absorbed, it will not be converted into nutrients for the body. The multi-grain rice, which originally has a very good laxative effect, may become the "culprit of constipation".

Many people think that "multi-grain rice is not tasty". After asking, they found that not only is it not soaked in water, but it is almost always cooked in "quick cooking mode". Therefore, in order to cook delicious rice, please be sure to follow the "soak in water fully" steps!

The soaking time will also change according to the season, but just decide the order. If you are cooking in the morning, soak it the night before, and if you are cooking in the evening, soak it in the morning. As long as you master these principles, anyone can easily and deliciously cook delicious multi-grain rice.

5 steps to cook delicious multi-grain rice

Ingredients: 1 cup of white rice (about 150g), 2-3 tablespoons of grains, 1 cup of water (200ml).

practice:

1. Wash the rice. You don't need to wash the rice vigorously, just gently circle it a few times and change the water 2 to 3 times. When washing for the first time, pour out and replace the water as soon as possible before the water soaks into the rice bran.

2. Rinse the grains through a strainer or other sieve with a finer mesh. (You can also use it directly without rinsing)

3. Add 1 cup of water + mixed grains and the same amount of water. (If you add 2 tablespoons of grains, also add 2 tablespoons of water.)

4. Soak in water. Soak for more than 30 minutes in summer and more than 1 hour in winter.

5. Cook as usual, and after simmering for about 10 minutes, open the lid and mix the rice by cutting. (The rice will become hard if left alone, so be sure to stir it after steaming.)

This article is from Apple House Publishing's "Reduced Sugar and Slimming Multigrain Rice: Nutritionists' personal evidence, one bowl per meal, accelerates fat burning and reduces waist circumference by 18 cm! 》, author: Shibata Maki