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Brown Rice Vs White Rice

by Stella Morgan

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Besides color, there is a lot of difference between brown rice and white rice. Unprocessed whole rice have many layers on its body, in case of the processing of the brown rice only the hull that is the outermost layer of the grain is removed. Milling process involves removing the layers present below the hull – bran and large part of germ giving us more white colored rice.

Further processing is required to produce the nice shiny rice which we are used to see in the super markets. This polishing process removes the aleurone layer which is filled with essential fats. Aleurone layer is removed to increase the shelf life of the rice as the essential fats in this layer are highly susceptible to oxidation when exposed to air.

The resulting product which we eat on the name of white rice is merely starch with most of its nutrients removed.

Where the difference lies –

Brown rice is a very good source of manganese and also a good source of other minerals like magnesium and selenium. Almost 11 nutrients are lost during the processing of white rice.

Process to get polished white rice from brown rice destroys 80% thiamin, 67% niacin, 90% vitamin B6, 60% iron, half of phosphorous and manganese and all of essential fatty acids and dietary fiber. According to law in United States fully processed polished white rice should be enriched with thiamin, niacin and iron, however this enrichment cannot replace the loss of around 11 nutrients and are not the same as found in the original version.

Health and nutrients from brown rice

Manganese – a trace mineral in brown rice is necessary for energy production from proteins and carbohydrates. It is also necessary for the synthesis of fatty acids that are involved to maintain a healthy nervous system. It is also an important component of superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme found inside the mitochondria which prevents oxidative damage and thus protects against free radical oxidation in the body.
To maintain healthy body weight it is very important to focus on whole grains (brown rice) and decrease the consumption of refined grains (white rice) as far as possible.
Selenium along with fiber in brown rice helps to fight against colon cancer. A cup of cooked brown rice provides 14% of the daily value for fiber and 27.3% of the daily value for selenium.
Not only the fiber form brown rice, but also the essential oils present in them helps to lower cholesterol to a larger extent. Many studies found that rice bran oil, more than rice bran helps to lower the body’s LDL cholesterol.
The nutritional value of brown rice also protects the cardiovascular system of the postmenopausal women by lowering cholesterol and maintaining a normal blood pressure. Thus it is much wiser to include whole grains (brown rice) to gain maximum health benefits.

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