Brown rice

Brown rice
Chinese name
Chinese 糙米
Literal meaning rough rice
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet gạo lứt
Thai name
Thai ข้าวกล้อง
Korean name
Hangul 현미
Hanja 玄米
Japanese name
Kanji 玄米
Filipino name
Tagalog pináwa
Rice, brown, long-grain, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 1,548 kJ (370 kcal)
77.24 g
Sugars 0.85 g
Dietary fiber 3.52 g
2.92 g
7.85 g
Vitamins
Thiamine (B1)
(35%)

0.401 mg

Riboflavin (B2)
(8%)

0.093 mg

Niacin (B3)
(34%)

5.091 mg

(30%)

1.493 mg

Vitamin B6
(39%)

0.509 mg

Folate (B9)
(5%)

20 μg

Trace metals
Calcium
(2%)

23 mg

Iron
(11%)

1.47 mg

Magnesium
(40%)

143 mg

Manganese
(178%)

3.743 mg

Phosphorus
(48%)

333 mg

Potassium
(5%)

223 mg

Sodium
(0%)

7 mg

Zinc
(21%)

2.02 mg

Other constituents
Water 10.37 g
Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Brown rice (or "hulled" or "unmilled" rice) is whole grain rice. It has a mild, nutty flavor, and is chewier and more nutritious than white rice, but goes rancid more quickly because the bran and germ—which are removed to make white rice—contain fats that can spoil.[1] Any rice, including long-grain, short-grain, or glutinous rice, may be eaten as brown rice. Although widely believed to be superior nutritionally to white rice, the nutritive value of brown rice has recently been challenged due to concerns over arsenic levels.[2][3][4][5][6]

White rice comparison

Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of calories and carbohydrates. The main differences between the two forms of rice lie in processing and nutritional content.

When only the outermost layer of a grain of rice (the husk) is removed, brown rice is produced. To produce white rice, the next layers underneath the husk (the bran layer and the germ) are removed, leaving mostly the starchy endosperm.

Several vitamins and dietary minerals are lost in this removal and the subsequent polishing process. A part of these missing nutrients, such as vitamin B1, vitamin B3, and iron are sometimes added back into the white rice making it "enriched", as food suppliers in the US are required to do by the Food and Drug Administration.[7]

One mineral not added back into white rice is magnesium; one cup (195 g) of cooked long grain brown rice contains 84 mg of magnesium while one cup of white rice contains 19 mg.

When the bran layer is removed to make white rice, the oil in the bran is also removed. Rice bran oil may help lower LDL cholesterol.[8]

Among other key sources of nutrition lost are dietary fiber and small amounts of fatty acids.

Preparation

A nutritionally superior method of preparation using GABA rice or germinated brown rice (GBR) (also known as Hatsuga genmai in Japan), developed during the International Year of Rice, may be used.[9] This involves soaking washed brown rice for 20 hours in warm water (34 °C or 93 °F) prior to cooking it. This process stimulates germination, which activates various enzymes in the rice. By this method, it is possible to obtain a more complete amino acid profile, including GABA.

Imitations

Parboiled rice is a modified process that forces into the kernel some of the vitamins found in the hull before the hull is removed. The process provides more nutrition than white rice while shortening the time necessary for final meal preparation.

One food writer has noted that, referring to whole rice as brown, leaves shoppers vulnerable to deception:

In French...Riz complet is rice with all the natural minerals and vitamins intact, unpolished and unprocessed. In English, one has to make do with the appellation brown rice – an inexact description of its color. This makes all sorts of hanky-panky possible. A little coloring is added to polished rice, and it’s sold in the supermarket as brown rice. Its brown all right, but nowhere near being complete.[10]

Storage

Brown rice has a shelf life of approximately 6 months,[11] but hermetic storage, refrigeration or freezing can significantly extend its lifetime. Freezing, even periodically, can also help control infestations of Indian meal moths.

Arsenic

A 2012 report from Consumer Reports found measurable levels of arsenic in nearly all of the sixty varieties of rice and rice products it tested.[12] Its 2013 analysis found that rice cereal and pasta can possess significantly more inorganic arsenic than the 2012 data showed. Consumer Reports said just one serving of rice cereal or pasta could place children over the maximum amount of rice it recommended for their weekly allotment, due to arsenic content.[13] Those following gluten-free diets, pregnant women, and infants and toddlers are groups that have been cited as being particularly at risk from rice-borne arsenic.[14][15][16]

In the United States, there is no federal limit for arsenic in rice and its products.[17] Arsenic enters soil and water as a result of the addition of arsenical chemicals such as roxarsone, carbarsone, arsanilic acid, and nitarsone to poultry and domestic pig feed to do such things as improve animal growth by killing intestinal parasites. The first three of those were banned for use in the USA by the FDA in 2013, after seventy years of usage for chemicals of this type.[18] It also was used heavily as a pesticide prior to DDT and is still used in that capacity in some parts of the world. It is persistent in soil. In the US, rice grown in soil that once was used for cotton is especially prone to high levels of arsenic as large amounts of the arsenical pesticides, such as Paris Green, were used to kill the boll weevil. Paris Green and lead hydrogen arsenate were also sprayed heavily in orchards prior to the introduction of DDT.[19] The heavy use of arsenical pesticides in much of the USA explains why rice grown in California, which saw comparatively less use of these pesticides is estimated to be, on average, 33% lower in inorganic arsenic by Consumer Reports.[20]

Consumer Reports states that brown rice has 80 percent more inorganic arsenic on average than white rice of the same type, because the arsenic tends to accumulate in the outer layers of the grain.[21] Organic rice farming does not lower arsenic levels because the arsenic originates from other types of farming, such as poultry and hog, as well as from earlier soil contamination. The highest level found in their 2012 testing was 9.6 micrograms per serving from long grain brown rice originating in Missouri. Its analysis of federal health data also found that those who ate rice had arsenic levels that were 44 percent higher.[22]

Consumer Reports is not the only source of information about arsenic in rice. There have been studies done by academic institutions in the past as well, such as one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. That study found a median level of arsenic that was 56% higher in the urine of women who had eaten rice.[23] Rice cereals and other products also raised levels. Although most inorganic arsenic that is consumed is rapidly excreted in urine, not all of it is. Additionally, kidney damage from other toxic elements such as cadmium can reduce excretion.[24] In addition to rice consumption the study found that 15% of women additionally had drinking water from wells with too much arsenic.

Due to its low cost and perceived improved nutritional value, brown rice is commonly used as a filler ingredient in products such as pet food,[25][26] baby food,[27][28][29] and cereal[30] for adults. Momtastic.com’s wholesome baby food site, for instance, states: “Always use brown rice when making homemade cereals, it's just more nutritious!”[31] Some infant and toddler formulas are made with rice syrup.[32]

Multiple vectors exist for arsenic contamination in addition to rice, such as drinking water,[33] consuming chicken products,[34] and apple juice.[35] WebMD states: “3-Nitro-treated birds were found to have more than 800 times more total arsenic in their livers, and 14 times more total arsenic in their meat, than untreated birds.” Some birds were found to have levels as high as 2,900 parts per billion.[36] Concerns have been raised over the cumulative effects involved in people being exposed to multiple vectors, in addition to just the potential effects from exposure to a single one. The amount of arsenic a person is exposed to from one source, such as rice, can be only a portion of the total amount of exposure.[37][38][39][40]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Brown rice". WHFoods. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  2. ↑ Consumer Reports (2014-01-11). "How much arsenic is in your rice?". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  3. ↑ Sohn, Emily (2014-10-20). "Contamination: The toxic side of rice". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  4. ↑ Yandell, Kate (2014-10-04). "How Rice Overcomes Arsenic". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  5. ↑ Ware, Lauren (2012-03-14). "Dartmouth Medicine — Research raises concerns about arsenic in rice". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  6. ↑ Greenfield MD, Russell (2011-08-12). "Taking Action: Arsenic and Our Children". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  7. ↑ "Enriched rice". Edocket.access.gpo.gov. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  8. ↑ Most, Marlene M; T; M; L (2005). "Rice bran oil, not fiber, lowers cholesterol in humans". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81 (1): 64–8. PMID 15640461. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  9. ↑ Ito, Shoichi and Ishikawa, Yukihiro (2004-02-12). "Marketing of Value-Add Rice Products in Japan: Germinated Brown Rice and Rice Bread". Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  10. ↑ William Dufty (1975) Sugar Blues, page 228
  11. ↑ "Storage". Usarice.com. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  12. ↑ Consumer Reports (2012-11-11). "Arsenic In Your Food". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  13. ↑ Consumer Reports (2014-01-11). "How much arsenic is in your rice?". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  14. ↑ Greenfield MD, Russell (2011-08-12). "Taking Action: Arsenic and Our Children". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  15. ↑ Burló et al. (2014-09-01). "Arsenic speciation in rice-based food for adults with celiac disease". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  16. ↑ Munera-Picazo et al. (2013-06-12). "Inorganic and total arsenic contents in rice-based foods for children with celiac disease". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  17. ↑ Consumer Reports (2014-01-11). "How much arsenic is in your rice?". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  18. ↑ Strom, Stephanie (2013-10-01). "After 70+ Years, F.D.A. Bans Three Arsenic Drugs Used in Poultry and Pig Feeds". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  19. ↑ Hood, Ernie (2006-08-01). "The Apple Bites Back: Claiming Old Orchards for Residential Development". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  20. ↑ Consumer Reports (2012-11-11). "Arsenic In Your Food". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  21. ↑ Consumer Reports (2014-01-11). "How much arsenic is in your rice?". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  22. ↑ Consumer Reports (2012-11-11). "Arsenic In Your Food". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  23. ↑ Spivey, Angela (2012-01-11). "NIH: Studies find arsenic in food adds up". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  24. ↑ Consumer Reports (2010-07-01). "Toxic Elements in Protein Supplements: What Our Tests Found". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  25. ↑ Hill’s Pet Nutrition (2015-01-01). "Hill’s Science Diet, Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Kitten". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  26. ↑ Hill’s Pet Nutrition (2015-01-01). "Hill’s Science Diet, Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Puppy". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  27. ↑ Nestlé (2014-01-01). "Gerber Medical: 3rd Food, Organic Herbed Chicken Pasta". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  28. ↑ Nestlé (2014-01-01). "Gerber Medical: 2nd Food, Nutritious Dinners, Chicken and Rice Pasta". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  29. ↑ Nestlé (2014-01-01). "Gerber Medical: 2nd food, Organic Banana Peach Granola". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  30. ↑ Kellogg’s (2015-01-01). "Kellogg's Rice Krispies gluten-free cereal". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  31. ↑ Evolve Media Corp (2011-09-03). "Wholesome Baby Food". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  32. ↑ Allen, Jane (2012-02-12). "Good Morning America — Organic Brown Rice Syrup, A Hidden Arsenic Source". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  33. ↑ Blum, Deborah (2013-09-20). "The Arsenic in Our Drinking Water". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  34. ↑ Strom, Stephanie (2013-10-01). "After 70+ Years, F.D.A. Bans Three Arsenic Drugs Used in Poultry and Pig Feeds". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  35. ↑ Oz MD, Mehmet (2011-09-09). "Arsenic in Apple Juice". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  36. ↑ Martin MD, Laura (2011-06-08). "Concerns Raised Over Arsenic in Chickens". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  37. ↑ Spivey, Angela (2012-01-11). "NIH: Studies find arsenic in food adds up". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  38. ↑ Consumer Reports (2010-07-01). "Toxic Elements in Protein Supplements: What Our Tests Found". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  39. ↑ Consumer Reports (2012-11-11). "Arsenic In Your Food". Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  40. ↑ Banerjee et al. (2013-07-22). "High arsenic in rice is associated with elevated genotoxic effects in humans". Retrieved 2015-03-27.

External links

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