Nice Rice! The Health Benefits of Rice

With over thousands of varieties, rice has served as a staple in many diets. Because of its dietary dominance, it has been cultivated for thousands of years, reaching every corner of the globe. This filling dish is laden with nutrients and dynamic in its uses. Let’s find out just how healthy rice really is!

It’s important to mention that brown nice is really the way to go. While white rice can be equally filling, much of the healthy nutrients are bleached out of it. By doing so, white rice becomes both easier and faster to cook. Certainly benefits, but not if we’re seeking great health.

The Nutrients

Brown rice is naturally full of nutrients. In fact, as explained by Elements for Health, brown rice is full of beneficial vitamins and minerals like “magnesium, iron, selenium, manganese, and the vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6.” In addition to that, it serves as a great source for fiber, which has a number of fantastic benefits in and of itself. Protein and gamma-oryzanol are also found in rice, giving it a well-rounded set of nutrients.

High Cholesterol

Given this profile of nutrients, brown rice helps combat a number of health issues. One big one is high cholesterol. The gamma-oryzanol in rice, rather than the fiber, has been shown to help lower cholesterol, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In the study, those with a diet including only brown rice with rice bran oil (the source of gamma-oryzanol) saw a difference in cholesterol, lowering LDL by 7 percent. That doesn’t mean we should overlook the fiber, though, which remains to have some heart-healthy benefits.

Cancer  and Disease Prevention

That fiber found in rice also contains a cancer preventing molecule: Inositol hexaphosphate. Some studies argue that this will help prevent some forms of cancer, namely pancreatic cancer. What’s more, a study by the American Institute for Cancer Research has argued that whole grains like rice contain many disease fighting phyonutrients like phenolics, which work in multiple ways to fight disease.

Cardiovascular Health

The fiber keeps on working – it has also shown to lower risk the cardiovascular disease. A diet full of fiber like that found in rice has been shown to slow the progression of atherosclerosis, or the build up of plaque, as well as a staunching of progression in stenosis, or the narrowing of the diameter of arterial passageways, as reported by WHFoods.

Constipation

Finally, the fiber content helps with the day to day bodily processes as well. The fiber moves through the intestinal tract easily, and with an increase in water consumption, you’ll find that brown rice is the best cure for passing foods!

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy
1,548 kJ (370 kcal)

* Carbohydrates
77.24 g

Dietary fiber
3.5 g

* Fat
2.92 g

* Protein
7.94 g

Thiamine (Vit. B1)
0.401 mg

Riboflavin (Vit. B2)
0.093 mg

Niacin (Vit. B3)
5.091 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5)
1.493 mg

* Vitamin B6
0.509 mg

* Folate (Vit. B9)
20 mg

* Calcium
23 mg

* Iron
1.47 mg

* Magnesium
143 mg

Phosphorus
333 mg

Potassium
223 mg

Zinc
2.02 mg

Manganese
3.743 mg