Believe it or not, there are thousands of varieties of rice, with colors ranging from black to purple to red and more. Of course, the type of rice most of us know best is white rice. You may have heard some people say rice isn’t nutritious or it will lead you to gain weight. But is this inexpensive food that’s a staple for more than half the globe’s population all that bad? To get a closer look at the rice health debate, let’s start with varieties and colors. The texture, flavor and nutrition of each type of rice is a little different. Rice is classified as short, medium, or long grain. Short-grain rice is the type used in sushi and has a chewy texture. Medium-grain rice like arborio and valencia tends to be more tender and will stick together more easily than long-grain rice. Long-grain varieties like basmati, brown and …