Nutrition facts: White rice vs brown rice
Should we eat white or brown rice?
This question is asked by many people who are planning to follow reducing weight diet. Some people think that brown rice has much less calories than white rice. In fact white rice is milled brown rice. People used to do that to get rid of all moisture and germs that shorten the life of rice when stored. In this hub I'll give you some nutrition information information that might be helpful when you decide which rice to eat.
Why do people following diet programs prefer brown rice?
According to some studies, brown rice diet is better because:
- it lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- it is a way of detoxifying our bodies
- it's full of fibers so it helps in digesting and absorbing food
- it is inexpensive :)
- it contains a lot of fibers so it helps cleaning out the colon
- it contains manganese which helps producing energy from protein and carbohydrates
- manganese in brown rice also protects our bodies from damage due to the free radicals produced during the process of producing energy
- brown rice makes you feel full faster and for a long time interval
What is the benefit of eating white rice?
What is the benefit of eating white rice?
White rice is the name given to rice that is milled, and all the husk, bran and germs are removed from it. They do this process to prevent spoilage and to extend the storage life of rice grain. Rice is polished after that to bring the bright w, resulting in a seed with a bright, white, shiny appearance to the seeds.
White rice is the primary food for about 3 billion people around the world. It doesn't have the outer fiber layer which contains all the vitamins, minerals and proteins that are beneficial as we said before,
What are the health benefits of white rice?
White rice also has benefits. Eating white rice:
- provides fast and instant energy to your body
- is good for bowel movement
- helps resistance to high blood pressure
Some studies proved that the biggest eaters of white rice were less likely to have European ancestry or to smoke, and more likely to have a family history of diabetes.
Now let's put the points in line!
Point of comparison
| White rice
| Brown rice
|
|---|---|---|
What is it?
| Milled rice that can be stored for a long time
| Unmilled rice that might be stored for shorter time
|
Starch
| It seems more starchy as it's uncoated
| It's a whole grained rice coated with a brown layer
|
Nutrition value
| Less nutrition value as all are removed on milling process
| High nutrition value as it keeps all these elements in the brown coat
|
Digestion
| Takes less time to be digested and better for people who have problems with their digestive system
| Takes a long time to be digested and not good for people with sensitive stomach
|
Rice and cholesterol
| Doesn't lower cholesterol
| Controls or lowers cholesterol in blood
|
Fats
| Less fat content
| More fat content
|
Required fat for cooking
| Needs more fats to cover rice seeds and prevents starching
| Doesn't need any fats because seeds are already covered with the brown sealing coat
|
Water needed to cook and duration
| Needs less water and less time to be cooked
| Requires a lot of water and takes more time to be cooked
|
How to cook perfect brown rice?
Some people don't eat brown rice because they don't know how to cook it. If brown rice is not cooked correctly it will have a texture that you won't like. This recipe is for perfect brown rice.
Note: For each cup of rice use 4 cups of water.
- Bring a suitable amount of water to boil (4 cups if you're cooking 1 cup of brown rice)
- In a strainer rinse brown rice under cold running water and move it with your hand to make sure it's all clean.
- After water boils pour rice and cover.
- Reduce to medium heat.
- Stir occasionally and cook it for 30 minutes.
- Pour rice in a strainer in the sink.
- Put rice back in the cooking pot and cook for more 10 minutes on a very low heat after covering the pot firmly.
- After 10 minutes add salt and spices as desired "you can add some vegetable oil if you like to"
