Brown rice or white rice, which is better? For some, it doesn’t even matter but a closer look between these two types of rice reveals that there are differences in nutritional value and the health benefits it can offer.
Benefits of Eating Brown Rice
- Brown rice is produced when only the outermost layer of the rice kernel, called the hull, is removed.
- Complete milling and complete polishing produces white rice.
- In some nations, rice is a staple food. It is part of every meal and is eaten together with different viands.
- It is said that brown rice contains more nutritional content than white rice and is thus more highly recommended.
Nutritional Value of Brown Rice
- Brown rice contains thiamine or vitamin B.
- It is also a good source of pyridoxine or vitamin B6 and vitamin K.
- Brown rice is also rich in Niacin.
- Brown rice serves as a good source of calcium and potassium.
- It contains minerals such as iron and phosphorus.
- Its protein content per 100gm is 7.5 gm.
- It contains 1.7 gm fats and 77.7 gm carbohydrates per 100gm.
- Brown rice has 360 calories per 100 gm.
Benefits of Brown Rice over White Rice
- White rice has undergone more polishing and milling removing most of the rice’s healthy layers.
- The loss of several layers also means the loss of many nutritional values that rice is known for.
- White rice has no aleurone layer which is the layer filled with healthy, essential fats.
- White rice also has 67% less vitamin B3 and 80% less of other vitamins such as vitamins B1, B3 and iron.
- At least 11 nutrients are lost when producing white rice.
Health Benefits of Eating Brown Rice
- Brown rice provides all the necessary carbohydrate requirements of the body.
- Brown rice is rich in fibers that help prevent constipation and other colon-related illnesses.
- Brown rice helps prevent hypertension and elevated cholesterol levels.
- Brown rice is considered a body building food.
- A good food for illnesses such as stomach and intestinal ulcers as well as diarrhea.
- Its many minerals help supply the nutrients for healthy hair, nails, teeth, muscles and bones.
- Brown rice is an excellent source of magnesium, which reduces the likelihood of asthma seizures, reduces heart risk, and lowers blood pressure.
- Brown rice also contains phenolic, an antioxidant which inhibits cancer-causing free radicals.