What Makes Brown Rice Better Than White Rice?
by Dr Chen Tai Ho | Jul 4, 2015
Hi everyone, I hope you all have had a fantastic week and are enjoying the weekend spending quality time with friends and loved ones. For today’s topic, I want to explore why many people are making the switch from white rice to brown rice.
The difference between the two is that in brown rice, only the outermost layer (the hull) is removed, which retains many nutrients that tend to be lost when further processed into white rice. Many people believe that it is healthier and better for their diets, but is it really true?
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| Many people think brown rice is better for health, but is it true? (pic from vhealthybyv.com) |
The nutrients and health benefits of brown rice
As mentioned earlier, only the hull is removed from brown rice which helps retain many nutrients. the extra processing that makes white rice tends to strip the aleurone layer of the grain, which contains essential fats that are beneficial to health. Usually these fats are removed to ensure a longer shelf life for white rice, but brown rice retains these healthy fats.
Brown rice also contains plenty of selenium and manganese; selenium is an important mineral that we often do not get enough of, and it helps to reduce the chances of developing several illnesses such as colon cancer. It has also been shown to kickstart the repairing of DNA and synthesis in cells that are damaged. Its cancer fighting properties are also apparent, as it incorporates itself in the active site of several proteins and also works together with vitamin E in many vital antioxidants in our body!
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| Brown rice can help to prevent colon cancer! (pic from chow.com) |
Manganese is used by our bodies to create fatty acids that are essential, which in turn produces healthy cholesterol. All it takes is one cup of brown rice to fulfil over 80% of the daily manganese requirement for our bodies!
In addition, the oil in whole brown rice has also been shown to reduce cholesterol levels (the bad kind)! A study done at the Louisiana State University compared rice bran oil and regular rice bran and its effects on cholesterol; it was found that the diet that contained rice bran oil helped to reduce bad cholesterol levels by up to 7%! However, the diet with only rice bran did nothing to lower cholesterol at all.
Brown rice also has a healthy amount of fibre, which helps prevent colon cancer like selenium. The fibre tends to latch onto substances that may potentially cause cancer, as well as toxins, helping to eliminate them from our body system and preventing them from attaching themselves to the colon wall.
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| With all its benefits, perhaps it might be time to start buying brown rice instead? (pic from usnews.com) |
Individuals suffering from diabetes can also benefit from brown rice as it helps to ensure stable blood sugar levels. Research has shown that consuming half a cup of brown rice everyday can reduce the risk of diabetes by up to 60%! Even if you are not a fan of brown rice, just consuming two servings of it every week can reduce the chances of developing type 2 diabetes by 11%. This is because it releases sugars slowly and is a more sustained fashion than white rice.
Perhaps it is time to switch up that diet a bit?
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