Rice

The Nutrients in Foods are B Vitamins, Calcium, Carbohydrates, Cholesterol, Fat, Fiber, Folic Acid, Incomplete Proteins, Iron, Niacin, Protein, Riboflavin, Saturated Fats, Sodium, Thiamine,Unsaturated Fats, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy and essential in a healthy eating habit. The three different kinds of carbohydrates are starch, sugar, and fiber. Starch is from chains of small sugars. When the chains are broken down during digestion, you get energy. You get four calories from each gram of starch or sugar broken down. Fiber do not break fiber down during digestion and give mass not energy. Cereals, wheat, rice, pasta, potatoes, bananas and corn are good sources of starch. They give us energy daily and the the starchy foods give you important vitamins and minerals also.

Rice provides 20 percent of the world’s dietary energy supply, while wheat supplies 19 percent and maize five percent. Rice is also a good source of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and dietary fiber. Unmilled rice contains more nutrients than milled or polished white rice. Rice is the main staple food for 17 countries in Asia and the Pacific, nine countries in North and South America and eight countries in Africa. The amino acid profile of rice is that it is high in glutamic and aspartic acid and lysine is the limiting amino acid.

Animal products and fish are useful additions in a rice based diet as they provide large amounts of essential amino acids and micro nutrients. Pulses, such as beans, groundnuts and lentils, are also nutritional complements to the rice-based diet and to complete the amino acid profile. The latest in research is that breakthroughs in scientific technology have made it possible to enhance the nutritional value of rice through modifying the genetic code. The best-known example of this technology is “golden rice”, which contains added carotenoids (precursors to vitamin A) from daffodil genes.

Carbohydrates

Breads	Rice
Beans	Potatoes
Cereals