Dietary Benefits of Brown Rice

“99 ABC’s of Wellness” Article Credit: The original article 99 ABC’s of Wellness is by Mylene Mendoza-Dayrit, which has appeared on the Philippine Star on January 12, 1999.

Principle #16: Benefits of Brown Rice

"Brown rice is rich in thiamine, niacin and fiber. It is also more filling than white rice." (excerpt from the original article)

Brown and white rice are the same in terms of carbohydrate, calorie, and protein content but the former has richer nutritional components compared the the latter.

In the process of polishing rice, there are certain nutrients that are lost like Vitamin B1, B3 and Iron. Producers of enriched rice return these nutrients to make more healthy rice. The Food and Drug Administration require them to do this.

Other nutrients that are lost in the polishing process are magnesium and bran oil. Brown rice is said to have 195 mg of magnesium per cup. This is reduced to only 84 mg per cup of white rice. Bran oil is said to help lower LDL (Low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol.

Most people like white rice more but with this information maybe we can have brown rice more often in our diet.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rice