Rice is a versatile cereal and a staple food around the world. It’s affordable and can be prepared in many scrumptious ways, but some people prefer to eat it raw.

While it’s true that eating raw foods can benefit your health, it’s also important to know which foods are good to eat raw and which are not. Indeed, there are many raw foods that could be harmful to the body, such as raw rice. Discover in this article the side effects of eating raw rice on your health.

Why Do People Eat Raw Rice?

There are no real cooking recipes using raw rice. Although its consumption is not really common among most people, it is, on the other hand, among people suffering from Pica. Scientifically, this habit is generally a condition associated with the behaviour of repetitive consumption of non-food items such as chalk, mud, plastic, etc.

Pica is a symptom of an underlying iron deficiency, and the same is true for Pica from uncooked foods like rice. Pica for uncooked rice occurs in adults of various ages but is more common in pregnant women. Other symptoms associated with this disease are hair loss, pale skin, nail symptoms and abnormal fatigue.

Why Do Many Pregnant Women Want To Eat Raw Rice?

Quite simply because of the Pica! Since pregnant women frequently have iron deficiencies, a Pica can develop during pregnancy.

Attention! The health risks associated with the consumption of raw rice are all greater for pregnant women and for the fetus. In the case of TCA (Eating Behavior Disorders) such as Pica, tell your doctor because it has been shown that a simple iron supplementation made it possible to make it disappear.

What Are The Dangers Of Eating Raw Rice?

Food Poisoning

Many people may not know it, but eating uncooked rice can lead to serious health issues. The stomach and gastrointestinal tract are responsible for digesting everything we eat.

Consuming any raw substance, or in this case, raw rice, directly affects the gastrointestinal tract, thereby causing food poisoning.

This risk is exacerbated by the presence of arsenic in some rice! Indeed, a significant number of rice fields contain water contaminated with arsenic, which is present following industrial contamination and pesticides.

Thus, since raw rice is not “cleaned” by boiling, the risk of arsenic poisoning is increased.

Damage to the Intestinal Wall

Lectins are another way uncooked rice affects the body. Lectins are proteins with natural insecticidal properties that are present in raw rice.

Due to this resistant property, the body is unable to digest it. The undigested passage through the digestive tract can seriously damage the intestinal wall.

Indigestion and Bacterial Effect

Raw rice frequently contains the harmful bacteria Bacillus cereus, which is a type of bacteria commonly found in the soil where rice is grown.

If you eat uncooked or undercooked rice, the bacteria will begin to multiply, and spore formation will resist elimination. Symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain can be observed immediately.

Iron Deficiency, Abdominal Pain and Others

A Pica resulting in the consumption of uncooked rice can be caused by anemia resulting from an iron deficiency (iron deficiency). Iron deficiency, along with the harmful effects of raw rice, causes several health issues. Abdominal pain is frequently reported. It also affects the health of your hair and nails, making them weak and thin.

In addition to physical health, it also influences psychological health. Addiction of any kind is harmful. It has a negative impact on the mental abilities of the dependent person, as well as on their ability to make decisions.

Does Eating Raw Rice Have Any Benefits?

There doesn’t seem to be any particular benefit to consuming raw rice. Thus, it is generally not present in a raw food diet, and everything tells us that raw rice is harmful. Although some varieties of rice have different intakes, such as brown, red, black or wild rice, it will always be preferable to eat it cooked.

Does Eating Raw Rice Make You Fat?

Along with wheat and maize, rice is one of the most widely consumed food grains as a staple food in the world. But does the secret slimming lie in cooking? Recent studies have shown that eating raw rice can help you lose weight.

Raw Rice to Lose Weight?

Also considered a starch, rice is an important source of energy in the diet. As nutritional values, 100 grams of raw weighed rice provides 349 kcal of calories, 78 g of carbohydrates, 8 g of protein and 1 g of lipids.

Raw rice is three times more caloric than when cooked: white rice provides 130 kcal when cooked, and brown rice provides 110 kcal. Brown rice is very rich in nutritional composition: vitamin B, fibre, vegetable protein, and various other minerals, including sulphur, manganese, phosphorus, and selenium.

But brown rice is more favourable for health. As it is a gluten-free diet, it is suitable for sensitive people, even during pregnancy for women.

Can Raw Rice Make You Gain Weight?

Rice is a real source of carbohydrate-rich energy. It can increase the secretion of insulin, the hormone that promotes fat storage and leads to weight gain. Indeed, consuming this kind of food increases blood sugar levels, which releases insulin from the pancreas.

This hormone then picks up glucose from the bloodstream and drives it into the cells of the body. The latter use it as energy and deposit the surplus in the form of fat. In this case, eating rice right after intense exercise, where the body’s glucose stores are minimal, can lead to weight gain.

Thus, we can say that eating rice makes you fat if you remain physically inactive. But this type of food contains only little fat, so knowing how to accompany it with less fatty foods is just as important to avoid gaining weight.

To Conclude

Eating raw rice can be fatal to you, and it can cause diseases such as food poisoning and intestinal damage. Raw rice is not typically present in any major diet, and the people who are consuming it are suffering from Pica.

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