# Buckwheat and Rice - GOOD or BAD?



## Bearcat (Jan 2, 2011)

Hi guys,

I would like to know your opinions on eating 2 foods: buckwheat and rice.

I am training 6 days a week and trying to get lean. I am quite fit already but I do need to grow some muscles further. I'm 19, 6ft tall, and weight about 76kg (if that makes any difference).

I have never been any good at diets although I tend to eat healthy (no pasta, pizza or any of that crap). Lots of veg, fruit, fish, meat, eggs. However 2 things that do bother me is rice and buckwheat. I am not sure if I should be eating either if I want to get lean?

Buckwheat is 71-78% Starch. Is that good or bad?

Any opinions/ advice welcome!

Thanks.


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## Greenspin (Dec 27, 2010)

Brown rice good. Buckwheat good.


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## Bearcat (Jan 2, 2011)

Thanks, and normal rice?


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

Define good or bad?

Both are absolutely fine so long as they fit into your dailt macronutrient and calorie goals. Rice does contain gluten, which some are sensitive too, and others say causes some health issues long term. There's nothing to say white rice is any worse for you than brown rice, and before anyone mentions GI - it's a worthless, irrelevant index.

Buckwheat is gluten free and a staple of mine.

And why would the starch content bother you? Starch is brocken down into glucose that can be utilised by the body for glycogen replenishment if your training hard.

So long as your diet is varied and not solely based on rice and Buckwheat, I certainly wouldn't be worried.


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## J87 (Nov 27, 2010)

Why is GI irrelevant mate? Genuinely interested in your thoughts.


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## thermique (Sep 15, 2010)

Check out bulgar wheat and quinoa also, great carb sources.


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

J87 said:


> Why is GI irrelevant mate? Genuinely interested in your thoughts.


GI is measured by comparing the blood glucose response of certain foods compared to a slice of white bread as a control. The foods are measure in isolation - as in eaten on their own. Being as you never eat foods on their own, worrying about their GI is pretty pointless, because as soon as you start combining foods you start messing with their respective supposed GI figures.

Also, just because something has a high GI, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be bad for you or is going to trigger you to overeat. Potatoes for example have a very high GI, yet they contain lots of nutrients, and minerals, and score very highly on the Satiety index (list of foods that make you feel full / satisfied). Another example here would be whey protein - huge GI due to dairy proteins being highly insulinogenic, shown in studies to help prevent fat gain etc.

Also, I love how people in the bodybuilding / fitness world bang on about GI, yet have no qualms with chugging down loads of simple sugars PWO, kinda contradictory right?

Basically not eating a food on the basis of it's GI is a pretty ridiculous viewpoint.

Further reading on the subject by a much more intelligent man than myself is available here: http://www.alanaragon.com/elements-challenging-the-validity-of-the-glycemic-index.html


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## J87 (Nov 27, 2010)

bayman said:


> GI is measured by comparing the blood glucose response of certain foods compared to a slice of white bread as a control. The foods are measure in isolation - as in eaten on their own. Being as you never eat foods on their own, worrying about their GI is pretty pointless, because as soon as you start combining foods you start messing with their respective supposed GI figures.
> 
> Also, just because something has a high GI, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be bad for you or is going to trigger you to overeat. Potatoes for example have a very high GI, yet they contain lots of nutrients, and minerals, and score very highly on the Satiety index (list of foods that make you feel full / satisfied). Another example here would be whey protein - huge GI due to dairy proteins being highly insulinogenic, shown in studies to help prevent fat gain etc.
> 
> ...


Thanks for that mate, food for thought.

Like you said, mixing your carbs with protein and specifically fat can lower GI, but surely mixing a low GI carb with other macronutrients lowering the GI further can only be a good thing?

I get what your saying about finding nutrients in high GI foods such as potatoes but surely you would find the same nutrients in sweet potato (Low GI) or maybe even some grains?

I thought an insulin spike PWO was a positive thing as it helps the nutrients get pulled into the muscle .. hence high GI carbs PWO, though people argue PWO nutrition is b*ll**** alltogether as protein synthesis happens 24hr+ later but thats another topic altogether.

Dont want to come across as a d*ck mate, some people get offended and defensive when people question their posts, not like that just wanna expand my knowledge.


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Brown rice has got more fibre in it, which is beneficial in a number of ways


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

bayman said:


> GI is measured by comparing the blood glucose response of certain foods compared to a slice of white bread as a control. The foods are measure in isolation - as in eaten on their own. Being as you never eat foods on their own, worrying about their GI is pretty pointless, because as soon as you start combining foods you start messing with their respective supposed GI figures.
> 
> Also, just because something has a high GI, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be bad for you or is going to trigger you to overeat. Potatoes for example have a very high GI, yet they contain lots of nutrients, and minerals, and score very highly on the Satiety index (list of foods that make you feel full / satisfied). Another example here would be whey protein - huge GI due to dairy proteins being highly insulinogenic, shown in studies to help prevent fat gain etc.
> 
> ...


That sums it up very nicely, reps for that post. GI, or Insulin Index are not things I'd worry excesively about.

As for buckwheat and rice, both good.


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

J87 said:


> Thanks for that mate, food for thought.
> 
> Like you said, mixing your carbs with protein and specifically fat can lower GI, but surely mixing a low GI carb with other macronutrients lowering the GI further can only be a good thing?
> 
> ...


It's good to question things, never accept things at face value, especially in the BB'ing world.

Seriously, worrying about GI is pointless. You could eat high GI foods only, an so long as you were in a caloric deficit you wouldn't gain an ounce of fat. Aragon points to a study (in the article I linked) where obese people were put on a diet consiting of low GI or high GI foods. Contrary to conventional wisdom both groups lost similar amounts of weight, another nail in the GI coffin.

White potato vs sweet potato. Go on to nutrition data and compare them on nutrient basis, gram for gram. Where one wins out the other loses and vice versa, but they are very closely matched. Plus like I said, when are you ever going to eat either on their own as part of meal?

An insulin spike PWO is beneficial, but not as much as you'd think, but that's another topic for another thread. I used that as an example to highlight the lack of logic in the BB'ing world - one minute high GI is the devil, the next it's your friend etc etc.


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## aka (Jun 25, 2010)

love buckwheat, put it on a flat tray and roast in the oven a few minutes then cook the buckwheat and it taste a lot better


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

fatmanstan! said:


> Brown rice has got more fibre in it, which is beneficial in a number of ways


What if you've already got enough fibre in your diet? What specifically makes white rice bad? The Japanese, specifically the okinawans are famous for good health and long life. All that white rice doesn't seem to do them any harm.... ;o)


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

Dtlv74 said:


> That sums it up very nicely, reps for that post. GI, or Insulin Index are not things I'd worry excesively about.


Thanks dude.


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## J87 (Nov 27, 2010)

bayman said:


> It's good to question things, never accept things at face value, especially in the BB'ing world.
> 
> Seriously, worrying about GI is pointless. You could eat high GI foods only, an so long as you were in a caloric deficit you wouldn't gain an ounce of fat. Aragon points to a study (in the article I linked) where obese people were put on a diet consiting of low GI or high GI foods. Contrary to conventional wisdom both groups lost similar amounts of weight, another nail in the GI coffin.
> 
> ...


Hmmm .. Its hard to believe all calories are equal, but if the evidence is there .. its there.

What does your daily carb intake consist of mate just out of curiosity? You stick to unprocessed stuff and disregard the GI?


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

J87 said:


> You stick to unprocessed stuff and disregard the GI?


It's a good mixture of foods to be honest. IMO so long as you're mainly getting your carbs from wholefoods you can't go wrong.


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## Bearcat (Jan 2, 2011)

Guys thanks for the replies but I totally forgot to mention: I would be trying to avoid a lot of carbs... as far as I understand if you limit your carbs intake it will help get leaner and loose body fat. Please note I am not saying I want to avoide carbs entirely but anything like pasta is a no-go. No cerial, no wheat ect ect. Hence I was worried about rice.


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## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

Bearcat said:


> Guys thanks for the replies but I totally forgot to mention: I would be trying to avoid a lot of carbs... as far as I understand if you limit your carbs intake it will help get leaner and loose body fat. Please note I am not saying I want to avoide carbs entirely but anything like pasta is a no-go. No cerial, no wheat ect ect. Hence I was worried about rice.


If you are not wanting to avoid carbs altogether i.e. not wanting to go into ketosis, then it's not so much the amount of carbs you want to limit but more, the amount of calories (to get leaner). Of course carbs contain calories... but so do protein and fat.


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

Thing is, Ketosis is no magic ticket to fat loss either. A ketogenic diet just helps control hunger and thus prevents overeating / maintain a caloric deficit. If you ate too many cals on Keto, you'd still get fat.

To the OP, if you're looking to limit carb intake, rice might not be the best choice. What I'd do would be set yourself a daily carbs limit - say 150g and monitor your intake, a serving of rice could well fit in this intake, or you might choose to replace it with other foods.


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## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

bayman said:


> Thing is, Ketosis is no magic ticket to fat loss either. A ketogenic diet just helps control hunger and thus prevents overeating / maintain a caloric deficit. If you ate too many cals on Keto, you'd still get fat.
> 
> To the OP, if you're looking to limit carb intake, rice might not be the best choice. What I'd do would be set yourself a daily carbs limit - say 150g and monitor your intake, a serving of rice could well fit in this intake, or you might choose to replace it with other foods.


Yep, I wasn't suggesting keto in anyway, merely pointing out, that since keto is not on the OP's agenda, he/she should maybe think about limiting calories and not getting hung up on solely the amount of carbs he/she is consuming.


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

If carbs are carbs then I know what I'm having for dinner 2 chicken breasts and haribo's - breakfast - protein shake and maoam, snack - almonds and jelly beans . Supper - cottage cheese and double dips!!!


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## Bearcat (Jan 2, 2011)

Ok thanks for the replies. Is cafeine bad for getting lean also?


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## invisiblekid (Jun 18, 2006)

Bearcat said:


> Ok thanks for the replies. Is cafeine bad for getting lean also?


Quite the opposite. Caffeine is usually beneficial pre-cardio and pre-training.


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## Bearcat (Jan 2, 2011)

Oh I see! thanks! So I can drink coffee then? That's great!


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## aka (Jun 25, 2010)

invisiblekid said:


> Quite the opposite. Caffeine is usually beneficial pre-cardio and pre-training.


as a stimulant but to loose weight in an empty stomach


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