Benefits of having BROWN RICE

A simple change in your diet can now lower your cholesterol level and protect you against cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and breast and colon cancer.

Doctors, nutritionists and dietitians are now increasingly recommending brown rice as an excellent source of all-round nutrition. Experts say the difference between brown rice and the more popular white rice is not just the colour. White rice actually lacks the necessary quantities of over a dozen important nutrients, including vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B1, B3, B6, folacin, potassium, magnesium and iron.

Rice goes through a number of procedures before it's ready for cooking. After harvesting, the seeds are run through a rice huller/husker for milling to remove the outer grain husks. What remains is brown rice. To create white rice, the inner husk is removed and the grain is polished. But this entire procedure actually destroys 67% of the rice's vitamin B3, 80% of its vitamin B1, 90% of its vitamin B6, half of its manganese, half of its phosphorus, 60% of the iron and all of its dietary fibre and essential fatty acids.

Speaking to TOI, V K Arora, CEO of LT Overseas, a company making brown rice, claimed, "Brown rice is a healthy and wholesome meal while white rice is simply a refined starch that is almost entirely bereft of its original nutrients."

Medical experts tend to agree. Charu Dua, dietician with Max Hospital, Saket, said, "More fibre would mean more satiety or feeling of fullness. Because fibre is grossly lacking in white rice, we tend to eat more of it. After about three hours we feel hungry once again. This increases calorie intake, leading to weight gain. We are now asking patients to shift to brown rice." Experts say one cup (195 grams) of cooked long grain brown rice contains 84 mg of magnesium while one cup of white rice contains 19 mg.

Manganese is necessary for a healthy nervous system and in the production of cholesterol, which is used by the body to produce sex hormones.

Also when the bran layer is removed to make white rice, the oil in the bran is removed. Studies have shown that rice bran oil helps lower LDL cholesterol or the bad cholesterol.

R & D head of LT Overseas Kaizar Colombowala said, "Women who eat whole grains like brown rice tend not to add weight. Brown rice minimises colon cancer risk, lowers cholesterol level and provides significant cardiovascular benefits for post-menopausal women. It's a good source of fibre that reduces high cholesterol levels and prevents atherosclerosis and breast cancer." What's more Brown rice can remain in storage for six months under normal conditions.