LOS BAÑOS (PLDT/WeRoam) -- The suggestion of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap that we eat less rice is laudable and timely. He has been unfairly pilloried for it, just because the idea comes from the administration.

If we ate only three-fourths (75 percent) of our usual rice intake, that would mean a 25-percent reduction in the country's rice consumption. And after getting used to eating less rice, we would be able to adjust to further reduction, which means more rice and peso savings.

To top it all, eating less rice is sound health practice, as explained below in the materials (author unknown) that I dug up from my email files.

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WHY NOT RICE?: The human body is not meant to subsist on rice. While our genes have hardly changed in more than 30,000 years, our diet and lifestyle have changed dramatically. The caveman would hardly recognize our food or way of life.

The caveman never cooked his food as he did not know how to use fire. He ate his food raw -- fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs, nuts and meat. (Yes, even meat, since man has the enzymes for digesting it.)

However, rice -- like wheat and corn -- cannot be eaten raw. It must be cooked since we do not have the system of enzymes to break it down raw.

But now rice dominates our daily fare. In some parts of Asia, rice forms up to 85 percent of the plate. The rising demand of the growing population has eaten deep into the limited supply.

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HEALTH RISK: For strategic and health reasons, let us keep to a minimum our rice intake. Rice may be great for our taste buds, but not for our body.

Rice and other grains like wheat and corn are actually worse than sugar. Rice is chemically no different from sugar. When digested, it becomes sugar.

One bowl of cooked rice is the caloric equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. It does not matter whether the rice is white, brown or organic.

Brown rice is richer in fiber, has some B vitamins and minerals, but one bowl of it is still the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Rice can be digested only when it is thoroughly cooked. However, when cooked, it becomes sugar and spikes circulating blood sugar within half an hour -- almost as quickly as when we eat a sugar candy.

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LACKS FIBER: Rice is very low in the “rainbow of anti-oxidants,” which is needed for the effective and safe utilization of sugar.

Fruits, on the other hand, come with a sugar called fructose. However, they are not empty calories as fruits are packed with a host of other nutrients that help proper assimilation and digestion.

The fiber of the kangkong fills us up long before it spikes our blood sugar. This is because the fiber bulks and fills up our stomach.

Since white rice has no fiber, we end up eating lots of “calorie dense” food before we get filled up. Brown rice has more fiber, but still contains the same amount of sugar.

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SURFEIT OF SUGAR: Rice is deceptively tasteless, unlike sugar which is sweet. We can take only so much of sugar before we feel like throwing up. Imagine swallowing 10 teaspoons of sugar (the equivalent of one bowl of rice) in one sitting!

Yet rice, which is tasteless, has been the main part of a Filipino meal.

We can take maybe two to three teaspoons of sugar. But some of us eat bowls of rice equal to 20-30 teaspoons of sugar in one meal! It is amusing to see someone eat five bowls of rice (equal to 50 teaspoons of sugar) and then ask for tea or coffee without sugar!

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ALSO SALT: There is no real “built in” mechanism for us to prevent overeating of rice.

How much kangkong can we eat? How much fried chicken? How much steamed fish? We cannot take too much of chicken, fish or cucumber, but we can eat a big amount of rice.

As rice is tasteless, we also tend to consume with it more salt -- another villain in high blood pressure control.

We tend to flavor rice with curry laden with salt. We are also likely to consume more ketchup and soy sauce, which are rich in salt.

Worse, the more rice we eat, the less water we will drink as there is no mechanism to nip our overeating it.

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HEAVY STUFF: Rice, wheat and corn sometimes come hidden in rice flour, noodles and bread that serve as rice substitutes. We often end up eating these hidden forms of rice that are digested into sugar.

Rice is “heavy stuff.” Even when cooked, it is difficult to digest.

If you have digestion problems, skip rice for a few days. You will be amazed at how the problem just goes away.

When taken in bulk, rice reduces the absorption of vital nutrients such as zinc, iron and the B vitamins.

Going riceless may not be easy, but we can still go with less of it. Take no rice or wheat at, say, breakfast. Go for eggs and nuts. Or go “western” once a week. Take no rice and breads for one day every week!

But if we give up rice, what do we eat? Good question! This merits another discussion to which nutritionists should contribute.

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