When i was a kid i innocently surprised to find out non asian don't eat rice. I was like. How they survive only eating side dishes and still manage to get obese they dont even eat rice(⊙…⊙ )
Actually white rice is low on calories and carbs compared to other grains, and is filling, so as a result you can eat less and store less fat. Asians also eat a lot of dark green vegetables which may be higher in essential vitamins.
A lot of bread (rice substitute) is high in calories and carbs, due to sugar and butter.
Eating rice can actually help to curb weight gain if you only eat moderate amounts.
Wait Asians eat a lot of dark green vegetables? Do non asian not eat vegetables or something? Is vegetables not part of their regular diet?
No, it just a slang for a colour group of veges. Dark greens usually typically refer to like...bokchoi, watercress, choi sum, gai lan (popular asian veges) etc...which are higher in nutrition but contain less sugar. As opposed to cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplant tomatoes, cauliflower which are significantly higher in sugar content and tend to be more part of western diet.
That's not to say neither group doesn't eat one or the other. Just in general, the more bitter the vegetable, the leaner and healthier it is, and marsh vegetables which are more easily grown and cheaper in Asia tend to get consumed more. Because there's less sugar in the diet, it's a leaner meal.
Oh really never knew that. That's true though. We practically eat those dark green veges at least once a day. Especially since they're super cheap and easy to grow in your garden.
If I ever got isekai'd into a place with no rice, I would also be super happy at seeing rice and any asian food ingredients. I cannot imagine living without rice. I know that sounds so stereotypically asian but who cares? We love our rice.