Porridge and rice are sources of carbohydrates that are often consumed by Indonesians. Even though they are both sources of carbohydrates, do they both have the same nutritional content? Check out the following article to find out the answer.
In short, of course, both of them have different nutritional content due to the cooking process and different textures. To produce Porridge, requires a longer cooking process and a higher amount of water. From this cooking process, we can see the difference in nutritional content between porridge and rice. The longer cooking process on the porridge can affect the other nutritional content of the rice. Such as the glycaemic index, and the content of micronutrients. Due to the longer cooking process, it is likely that more of the vitamins and minerals contained in the rice will dissolve. Regarding the glycaemic index, the longer heating process and refinement of the porridge lead to an increase in the glycaemic index. (Supariasa & Handayani, 2019).
What about the macronutrients? Of course, it’s different. It takes more porridge to produce the same number of calories as rice. The amount of 1 serving of rice or 100 grams of white rice itself contains 175 calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein. To achieve this macronutrient content, 400 grams of rice porridge or as much as 2 cups is needed. In addition to cooking, the porridge’s thinner texture also makes it easier to digest, so it is often felt that the consumption of porridge is faster hungry than consuming rice.
Porridge can still be used as an alternative source of carbohydrates to replace rice. So that the nutrients you get are still sufficient, the amount of porridge can be added and combined with other foods. For example, chicken as a source of animal protein or beans as a source of vegetable protein.
You already know how the difference in nutritional content between porridge and rice even though they come from the same food ingredients? In the end, both porridge and rice are good sources of carbohydrates for the body. The thing that needs to be considered is the number of portions eaten and the combination of other foods to achieve the proper nutritional needs for the body.
Contributor: Rif’ah Mawaddati 6th semester student of Bachelor of Nutrition, FKM UI
Reference:
Suharyati., et al. (2019) Penuntun Diet dan Terapi Gizi Edisi 4. Jakarta: EGC Penernit Buku Kedokteran
Supariasa, I. D. N. & Handayani, D., 2019. Asuhan Gizi Klinik. Jakarta: EGC Penerbit Buku Keddokteran.