Rice paper: a thin sheet of white rice starch

We found no trial of rice paper itself, so what it does to blood sugar is borrowed from white rice. The closest evidence is a randomized crossover in 10 healthy adults eating 50 g carbohydrate portions, where brown rice left the stomach more slowly than white rice, p < 0.05, in cooked grains that were never made into rice paper. Rice paper is made from white rice flour without the bran. The sheet is mostly starch. Dry, it carries 323 calories, 72 g carbohydrate, 5.9 g protein and 0.5 g fiber per 3.5 oz (100 g) in the US survey database, whose values are imputed with no measured sample spread. A medium 15 g sheet gives about 48 calories and 11 g carbohydrate. Wrapped round meat or shrimp and vegetables, an unfried roll of 71 g comes to about 80 calories, 12 g carbohydrate and 280 mg sodium, with the dipping sauce left out of the count.

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Dry rice paper is mostly starch: the US survey database lists 323 calories, 72 g carbohydrate, 5.9 g protein, 1.1 g fat and 0.5 g fiber per 3.5 oz (100 g), with 314 mg sodium. — Rice paper (USDA FNDDS 54319500, fdc_id 2708166) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 323 calories, carbohydrate 72.26 g, protein 5.91 g, fat 1.11 g, fiber 0.5 g, sodium 314 mg
• A fresh unfried roll with meat or shrimp and vegetables in rice paper weighs about 2.5 oz (71 g) and gives roughly 80 calories, 12 g carbohydrate, 4 g protein and 280 mg sodium. — Roll with meat and/or shrimp, vegetables and rice paper, not fried (USDA FNDDS 58110200, fdc_id 2708704) Evidence E source
  Per roll 71 g: 79.5 calories, carbohydrate 12.2 g, protein 4.0 g, fat 1.9 g, fiber 1.3 g, sodium 280 mg

What a real portion looks like

• One medium rice paper sheet weighs about 15 g and carries roughly 48 calories and 11 g carbohydrate, a small one 5 g and a large one 20 g. — Rice paper (USDA FNDDS 54319500, fdc_id 2708166) Evidence E source
  Small sheet 5 g (16 calories, 3.6 g carbohydrate), medium 15 g (48.5 calories, 10.8 g), large 20 g (64.6 calories, 14.5 g)

What your body absorbs

• In a randomized crossover trial in 12 healthy women, drinking green tea with 5.3 oz (150 g) of white rice raised the post-meal glucose response and sped gastric emptying compared with eating the rice alone. — 12 healthy females, single test meals of 150 g white rice with or without 6.8 fl oz (200 mL) green tea (n = 12) Evidence B source
  Significantly higher postprandial glucose and faster gastric emptying with liquid; size not given in abstract

What it does to your health

• In a human trial, wheat noodles with 30 percent of the flour replaced by a slowly digested RD43 rice flour lowered post-meal glucose from 15 to 90 minutes. — Healthy adults eating test noodles, acute postprandial study Evidence B source
  Lower plasma glucose at 15-90 min, higher GLP-1 and PYY at 30 min, higher fullness to 120 min

Safety, limits and interactions

• In a 2022 catering outbreak in Canberra, vegetarian rice paper rolls were linked with norovirus illness, with a risk ratio of 1.7. — Attendees of catered events, Australian Capital Territory, November 2022; 129 of 157 surveyed (n = 129) Evidence C source
  RR 1.7 (95% CI 1.01 to 2.8) for vegetarian rice paper rolls on 16 November
• In a survey of 1181 food samples in southern China, Bacillus cereus group bacteria were found in 45.7 percent of wheat and rice noodles. — 1181 food samples, southern China, 2020-2023 (n = 1181) Evidence C source
  Contamination 55.8% in cereal flour and 45.7% in wheat/rice noodles
• In March 2024 in East Taipei, bongkrekic acid poisoning from wet rice noodles affected 33 people and killed two. — 33 patients who ate contaminated wet rice noodles, East Taipei, March 2024 (n = 33) Evidence D source
  2 deaths among 33 poisoned
• FDA says vomiting-type B. cereus outbreaks have generally been associated with rice products, and salads have frequently been linked with B. cereus outbreaks. FDA advises keeping food refrigerated at 40 F or lower. — General population (home food handling) (n = -) Evidence E source
  Refrigerate at 40 F or lower, cooking may not disable the emetic toxin

What people believe that the data does not support

• Pooling 7 cohorts, white rice intake was not linked with cardiovascular disease or stroke risk. — Prospective cohorts, 17 studies overall with more than 875,000 participants, 7 on white rice (n = 7 cohorts) Evidence C source
  CVD HR 0.93 (0.86 to 1.00), stroke HR 1.03 (0.93 to 1.14)

Who this works differently for

• Across 7 cohorts of 352,384 people, each daily serving of white rice was linked with an 11 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes. — 352,384 adults in 7 prospective cohorts in Asia and the West, 4 to 22 years of follow-up (n = 352384) Evidence C source
  RR 1.11 (1.08 to 1.14) per serving/day; highest vs lowest RR 1.55 (1.20 to 2.01) in Asian and 1.12 (0.94 to 1.33) in Western populations

What is still unknown

• In a crossover study of 10 healthy adults eating 50 g carbohydrate portions, brown rice left the stomach more slowly than white rice. — 10 healthy adults, acute feeding of 6 rice samples with 50 g available carbohydrate (n = 10) Evidence B source
  Brown rice delayed gastric emptying vs white rice (p < 0.05)

The bottom line

The white rice evidence behind it is observational and points two ways. Across 7 cohorts of 352,384 adults followed for 4 to 22 years, each daily serving of cooked white rice was associated with an 11 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes, RR 1.11 (1.08 to 1.14). The association was strongest in Asian populations, RR 1.55 for the highest against the lowest intake, and did not reach significance in Western ones. A separate pooling of 7 cohorts found no association between white rice and cardiovascular disease, HR 0.93 (0.86 to 1.00), or stroke, HR 1.03 (0.93 to 1.14). None of these cohorts counted rice paper. Two small acute trials show what can shift the glucose response to rice, and neither tested the wrapper. In 12 healthy women, drinking 6.8 fl oz (200 mL) of green tea with 5.3 oz (150 g) of white rice gave a significantly higher post-meal glucose rise and faster stomach emptying than the rice alone, and the abstract gives no size. Wheat noodles with 30 percent of the flour replaced by a slowly digested RD43 rice flour lowered post-meal glucose from 15 to 90 minutes. That flour comes from a special high resistant starch cultivar, and the abstract does not say how many people took part. The safety records here are outbreaks and surveys of fresh rice foods, and we have no card yet on how to make, keep or store rolls safely. In a 2022 Canberra catering outbreak, vegetarian rice paper rolls were associated with norovirus illness, RR 1.7 (95% CI 1.01 to 2.8), in a single outbreak of hand-assembled cold rolls. In southern China, Bacillus cereus group bacteria turned up in 45.7 percent of wheat and rice noodle samples, which records presence on noodles and no illness. In Taipei in 2024, wet rice noodles contaminated with bongkrekic acid poisoned 33 people and killed two, a case series in which dry rice paper was not involved. We have no card on gluten, pregnancy, children or medicines for rice paper, so the page is silent on them.

Sources

1. rpp-r6-01 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Rice paper (FNDDS 54319500, fdc_id 2708166): Energy 323 KCAL; Carbohydrate, by difference 72.26 G; Protein 5.91 G; Total lipid (fat) 1.11 G; Fiber, total dietary 0.5 G; Sodium, Na 314 MG per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS, FDC 2708166 (food code 54319500) · checked 2026-09-29
2. rpp-r6-03 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Roll with meat and/or shrimp, vegetables and rice paper, not fried (FNDDS 58110200, fdc_id 2708704): 1 roll (4-1/4" x 1-1/2" dia) 71 g; Energy 112 KCAL, Carbohydrate 17.23 G, Protein 5.65 G, Total lipid (fat) 2.65 G, Fiber 1.9 G, Sodium, Na 395 MG per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS, FDC 2708704 (food code 58110200) · checked 2026-09-29
3. rpp-r6-02 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Rice paper (FNDDS 54319500, fdc_id 2708166): 1 small paper (6-3/8" dia) 5 g; 1 medium paper (8-5/8" dia) 15 g; 1 large paper (12-3/8" dia) 20 g; Quantity not specified 18 g
   USDA FNDDS, FDC 2708166 (food code 54319500) · checked 2026-09-29
4. rpp-r6-04 · RCT
   Consumption of rice with liquid (both "rice + tea" and "blend") induced significantly higher postprandial glycemic responses, in addition to significantly higher gastric emptying rates, than eating rice only.
   Physiol Behav, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
5. rpp-r6-06 · RCT
   In human studies, ingestion of 30% RD43 rice noodles significantly lowered postprandial plasma glucose at 15-90 min.
   Food Funct, 2021 · checked 2026-09-29
6. rpp-r6-09 · retrospective cohort
   On multivariable analysis, vegetarian rice paper rolls were associated with illness on 16 November 2022 (RR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.01-2.8; p = 0.046); however no individual food categories were significantly associated with illness on 17 November 2022.
   Commun Dis Intell (2018), 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
7. rpp-r6-10 · prevalence survey
   These strains were found to be prevalent in various food types, with the highest contamination rates observed in cereal flour (55.8 %) and wheat/rice noodles (45.7 %).
   Sci Total Environ, 2024 · checked 2026-09-29
8. rpp-r6-11 · case series
   Herein, we report two fatalities among 33 patients who ingested BKA in March 2024, East Taipei, Taiwan.
   Taiwan J Obstet Gynecol, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
9. sf-bc-r3-5 · agency advice
   The vomiting-type outbreaks generally have been associated with rice products; however, other starchy foods, such as potato, pasta, and cheese products, also have been implicated. Food mixtures, such as sauces, puddings, soups, casseroles, pastries, and salads, frequently have been linked with food-poisoning outbreaks. ... One of the most important things you can do to protect yourself from infection with B. cereus is to keep your food refrigerated at 40°F or lower. ... Cooking may kill the bacteria, but it might not disable the toxin that causes the vomiting type of illness.
   US FDA, Bad Bug Book 2nd ed. (2012), Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus species · checked 2026-10-08
10. rpp-r6-08 · meta-analysis of cohorts
    White rice intake was also not associated with risk of CVD (HR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.86-1.00, I2 = 25%; 7 cohorts) or stroke (HR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.93-1.14, I2 = 22%; 7 cohorts).
    Trends Cardiovasc Med, 2024 · checked 2026-09-29
11. rpp-r6-07 · meta-analysis of cohorts
    In the total population, the dose-response meta-analysis indicated that for each serving per day increment of white rice intake, the relative risk of type 2 diabetes was 1.11 (1.08 to 1.14) (P for linear trend<0.001).
    BMJ, 2012 · checked 2026-09-29
12. rpp-r6-05 · RCT
    In human subjects, low-amylose and high-amylose brown rice delayed gastric emptying compared to white rices regardless of amylose content or temperature-cycling (p < 0.05).
    Eur J Clin Nutr, 2018 · checked 2026-09-29