Including rice water in your diet may help you reach your fitness goal sooner, as it promotes a feeling of fullness, which results in lesser calorie consumption in a day. But does rice water really help with weight loss? Here's what you need to know.
What is Rice Water?
Rice water is the starchy liquid left over after cooking or soaking rice. This liquid, often discarded, contains not only starch but also a variety of other nutrients beneficial for the body. It is rich in vitamin E, magnesium, fiber, zinc, and manganese. Additionally, it contains healthy carbohydrates that can provide the body with the energy it needs throughout the day.
Nutritional Properties of Rice Water
Rice water is packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. During the cooking process, rice releases nutrients into the water, making it a nutrient-dense liquid. It contains B vitamins including B1, B2, B6, and B9, which play a crucial role in energy metabolism and cellular function. Minerals like potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus are also present, essential for maintaining bodily functions and promoting overall health. Moreover, rice water contains antioxidants like ferulic acid and allantoin, which help protect cells from oxidative stress and promote skin health.
Benefits of Rice Water
Many benefits of rice water will prove useful for our body. According to a study published in Processes, rice water is referred to as a food processing waste that is usually discarded during raw rice preparation. However, this waste has many useful benefits. It is used as a medicine and works as a digestible healthy drink for patients who have diarrhea. The study adds that rice water helps to make our skin fair, smooth, and even-toned skin. When it comes to hair care, it protects against dandruff.
Rice Water for Weight Loss
Using rice water for weight loss is a great way to shed some extra kilos. Here is why it is a great option:
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- Low in Calories: If you are on the lookout for a healthy, but also non-fattening drink to have in your weight-loss journey, then rice water can be a great option for you. This is a low-calorie alternative to sugary drinks or even sugar-free beverages that are often touted to have other side effects. The amount of calories depends on the kind of rice used, whether it was boiled or not, and also for how long the rice was boiled. On an average, 100 ml of rice water contains about 40-50 calories, provided no sugar is added.
- May Help in Better Digestion: A study published in Frontiers in Microbiology states that the starch present in rice water helps to relieve digestive issues. The starch also helps in reducing fat accumulation and promoting fat metabolism. When we take steps to improve our digestion, our bodies can utilise the nutrients present in the food that we consume more effectively. This helps us to lose weight as well as keep us healthy.
- May Improve Gut Health: Improving the health of your gut goes a long way in your weight-loss goals. A study published in Natural Product Research suggests that the probiotics present in fermented rice water can have beneficial and therapeutic effects on your gastrointestinal tract. The study adds that rice water provides intestinal flora with beneficial enzymes as well as bacteria. Therefore, it promotes gut microbiome health, builds immunity and can help prevent chronic diseases as well.
- Keeps You Full: Drinking a glass of rice water, in between your meals, can help keep you full for longer. This reduces the possibility of you bingeing on unhealthy snacks between meals. It also has a healthy amount of carbohydrates and gives you that required boost of energy when you are on your weight loss journey.
- Keeps You Hydrated: Rice water has important electrolytes such as potassium and magnesium that are required by our body. This makes this drink a natural hydrating agent. Hydration helps to suppress appetite, as well as boost your metabolism, states this study, published in Frontiers in Nutrition. This is what makes drinking rice water for weight loss a great idea.
Additional Benefits
- Boosts Energy: Rice water has been believed to be rich in carbohydrates, mainly starch, since ancient times, offering a quick and natural energy boost.
- Promotes Hydration: One of the excellent health benefits of drinking boiled rice water is that it helps rehydrate the body during workouts or hot weather.
- Prevents Constipation: If you regularly struggle with constipation, I am sure you will love this benefit of drinking rice water.
- Supports Healthy Skin: Who doesn't like healthy, glowing skin? Well, we all do. If you want that extra shiny glow on your skin, include rice water in your daily routine.
- Soothes Digestive System: The benefits of drinking boiled rice water extend deep into your digestive system. It soothes your stomach lining, ensures better digestion, and eases inflammation, mainly during diarrhoea or gastritis outbreaks.
How to Use Rice Water for Weight Loss
- Drinking Rice Water: After cooking rice, strain the water and let it cool. Drink it plain or flavored with a squeeze of lemon or a dash of cinnamon. Consuming a glass of rice water before meals may help reduce appetite and calorie intake.
- Replacing Higher-Calorie Drinks: Replace sugary beverages or high-calorie drinks with rice water. Its mild flavor makes it a base for smoothies or herbal teas, offering a low-calorie alternative.
- Add as a Stock: Use rice water as a cooking liquid for soups, stews, or porridge.
How to Make Rice Water
If you’re thinking how to prepare rice water at home, here’s a very simple recipe! All you need is a pot of rice and water to boil it. Take three tablespoons of white rice and two cups of water. You can increase this quantity based on this proportion. Let this mixture cook on the gas for a period of 20 to 30 minutes. Strain the milky water and let it cool down. Rice water can be stored in the refrigerator for one week, and not more.
Fermented Rice Water
Absolutely! There are numerous health benefits to drinking fermented rice water. You can make this mixture by letting the boiled rice water sit for 24 hours, lightly covered. Fermenting rice water for benefits usually takes 24 to 48 hours at room temperature. This enables the nutrients to multiply and the water to produce beneficial properties.
Daily Dosage
If you are looking to include rice water for weight loss in your diet, make sure to follow the right dosage. It is advisable to drink 1-2 cups a day. But before you make this a part of your daily routine, it is best advised to check with your healthcare provider.
Best Time to Have Rice Water for Weight Loss
While rice water can be had at any time of the day, having it 30 to 40 minutes prior to your lunch and dinner is a great idea. This helps to keep you full, and you end up consuming fewer calories.
Potential Risks and Side Effects
While rice water is generally healthy, it comes with its share of side effects as well. Rice water is used to treat diarrhea, and drinking it in excess can lead to constipation. Besides this, drinking more than the recommended amount can also lead to bloating, as well as gas.
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Food Safety Concerns
“Drinking unwashed, uncooked rice water poses clear microbiological and chemical safety risks,” says Darin Detwiler, author of the book Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions and a professor at Northeastern University. Raw rice can carry bacterial spores like Bacillus cereus, along with residues from pesticides, herbicides, and arsenic, especially in regions where water or soil is contaminated, Detwiler points out. “Washing rice before use helps remove surface contaminants,” Detwiler says. Skipping that step increases the likelihood of ingesting residues, especially if the rice isn’t organic or clearly labeled as washed or pre-cleaned.”
Other Potential Risks
- High Carbohydrate Content: Mir Ali, M.D., medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center, points out that this drink is likely high in carbohydrates, noting that, in excess, they can be “counterproductive” to weight loss.
- Temporary Weight Loss: Weight regain (if you lose any in the first place) is also a risk, Dr. Ali says. “This weight loss will be temporary because you’re not making permanent, healthy, long-term changes,” he says. “Once you stop doing this kind of thing, the weight will come back.”
- Exacerbation of Acid Reflux: If you have an underlying health condition like acid reflux, downing lime juice daily may exacerbate symptoms, Dr. Shah says.
Bacillus Cereus Risk
Rice water can become unsafe due to a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, which is commonly found in rice. While normal cooking kills active bacteria, some spores can survive high temperatures. The real risk isn’t from rice steeped briefly in hot water, but from rice that’s been cooked or soaked and then left out for hours. In this warm, moist environment, spores can germinate, multiply, and produce toxins that cause food poisoning. Because these toxins are heat-resistant, reheating won’t make the rice-or the rice water-safe to consume. Symptoms typically include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and can last for a day or two.
Heavy Metal Contamination
Rice plants are known to absorb heavy metals-like arsenic, lead, and cadmium-from the soil and water they’re grown in. Arsenic in particular can affect brain development and increase the risk of cancer and heart disease. One study found that boiled water left behind more arsenic, so it’s possible that using cold water to soak the rice could be safer.
Minimizing Risks
- If you’re worried about microbes: Using boiling water instead of room temperature water is the safest method for potentially killing off any bacteria present in the uncooked rice or water.
- If you’re worried about heavy metal levels: Use cold water and soak the rice longer.
Rice Water vs. Weight Loss Medications
Doctors stress that rice water is not in the same ballpark as medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. “It’s really not metabolically helping you at all,” Dr. Shah says. “It doesn’t in any way mimic Ozempic,” Dr. Ali agrees. “It has no hormonal effects like Ozempic.”
The Rice Diet
The rice diet is a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, low-protein diet that doctors originally used to treat high blood pressure and kidney failure. Since then, some have used the rice diet for weight loss. For the purposes of weight management, the rice diet does create a calorie deficit, which is how any diet can lead to weight loss.
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History
Walter Kempner devised the rice diet in the 1940s to treat specific medical conditions that, at the time, had few treatment options. Kitty and Robert Rosati popularized the diet as a weight loss method in 2006 with their book, The Rice Diet Solution.
Effectiveness
In 1975, Kempner and other researchers tested the diet in combination with exercise as a treatment for obesity in 106 people. All participants lost at least 45 kilograms (99 pounds) over the duration of the study. But the study did not follow the participants to determine if the weight loss was sustainable once the study was over. There are also no studies evaluating if the newer version of the rice diet in The Rice Diet Solution is a safe or effective weight loss method.
Potential Downsides
- Muscle Loss: Low protein may cause some people to lose muscle mass or lack the amino acids necessary to synthesize protein.
- Low Energy: Everyone needs a different number of calories per day depending on their sex, size, physical activity, and other factors. The Rice Diet Solution limits all people to the same calorie intake. For some, this may result in a significant calorie deficit, and could result in fatigue, weakness, or dizziness.
- Nutritional Deficiencies: Foods that contain protein, such as meat, fish, and eggs, also contain other important nutrients that a person may find it difficult to get in sufficient quantities from the rice diet, particularly if they also avoid dairy. Some examples include B vitamins and iron. People may need to take supplements to fill these gaps. A dietitian can advise on this.
- Low Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs): Healthy fats can be a source of EFAs, such as omega-3. These are essential for many bodily functions.
Who Should Avoid the Rice Diet?
In general, people should not make dramatic changes to their diet without first consulting a doctor. This is especially true if they take medications, have any preexisting health conditions, or if they have a history of restrictive dieting or disordered eating. The authors of The Rice Diet Solution advise that people taking drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, or other cardiovascular diseases consult a doctor before trying this diet. In addition, people who have had surgery on their colon, ureteral diversion procedures, or impaired kidney function should not follow the diet. Anyone who feels unwell or dizzy while following the rice diet should stop following the program and speak with a medical professional.
Phases of The Rice Diet Solution
- Phase 1: Detox: During this phase, a person follows the basic rice diet for 1 day per week. This means eating two starches and two fruits at each meal. For the rest of the week, a person eats a lactovegetarian rice diet, with nonfat dairy but no meat.
- Phase 2: Weight Loss: This phase aims to help someone lose weight according to their health goals. The length of phase two depends on how much weight someone wants to lose. This phase consists of: the basic rice diet for 1 day per week, the lactovegetarian rice diet for 5 days per week, a vegetarian-plus rice diet for 1 day per week. The vegetarian-plus version of this diet is the same as the lactovegetarian diet, but includes a source of vegetarian protein, such as beans. This amounts to 200 more calories per day than the lactovegetarian rice diet.
- Phase 3: Maintenance: This phase helps a person maintain their new weight. The authors provide guidelines for this phase but advise that once someone has reached their target weight, they may wish to make some 200 calorie additions to include fish, healthy fats, such as nuts and avocado, or dairy products. The diet consists of: the basic rice diet for 1 day per week, the lactovegetarian rice diet for 4 days per week, the vegetarian-plus rice diet for 2 days per week.
Conclusion
If you are on your weight loss journey, drinking rice water can be a great solution. Not only is it healthy, but it’s a low-calorie drink that comes with a wide range of benefits such as building immunity and helping with digestive ailments. However, it is important to not drink more than the required amount as it can lead to constipation as well as gas and bloating.
While the promises of rice water for weight loss are compelling, they don’t live up to the claims. That’s because a single drink isn’t the path to weight loss or long-term weight management. If you’re looking for lasting weight loss and better health, a safer and more effective approach is to increase your intake of fiber from whole foods and maintain a balanced diet. Foods like whole grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are rich in fiber, which helps you feel full longer, supports gut health, and can aid in weight management.
FAQs
Can you drink rice water every day?
Yes, rice water can be had everyday, but in moderation. This helps aid your digestion process.
Does rice water burn fat?
Rice water does not burn fat, but it promotes a feeling of fullness.
How much weight can you expect to lose on the Rice Diet?
Everyone is different, but during the first month, women lose 19 pounds and men lose 30 pounds, on average, claims the book, The Rice Diet Solution.
What is the recipe for the Rice Diet drink?
There’s no specific drink for the diet. The plan recommends drinking water, herbal tea, unsweetened fruit juice, unsalted vegetable juice, and non- or low-fat milk.
What is phase 1 of the Rice Diet?
The goal of phase 1 is to detox the body of water weight, excess sodium, pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals. For the first day, you’ll eat grains and fruit, followed by adding vegetables, beans, and organic milk for the other six days.