Brown rice benefits

Health tips - Brief History of Brown Rice

The earliest record of rice being cultivated in China date back to 7000 B.C.E., and rice was exclusive to Asia before travelers brought it into ancient Greece. Although typically viewed as a side dish in Western nations, rice provides up to half the calories in a typical daily diet in many Asian countries. Most of the world’s rice is grown in Asia. There are more than 8,000 varieties of rice.

Nutrients in Brown Rice

Brown rice is an excellent source of magnesium, iron, selenium, manganese, and the vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6. Brown rice is a good source of dietary fiber, protein, and gamma-oryzanol. White rice is brown rice that has had essential nutrients removed when processed in order to make it easier and faster to cook, and to give it a longer shelf life. This is accomplished by removing the bran, and with it, minerals and vitamins that are necessary in our diet.

Brown Rice for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

Research suggests that subaleurone components in a layer of tissue surrounding grains of brown rice may work against angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is an endocrine protein and a known culprit in the development of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. Researchers found that subaleurone components that were selected by an ethyl acetate extraction inhibited angiotensin II activity in the cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. This suggests that the subaleurone layer of rice offers protection against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

Glycemic Index of Brown Rice

In a study to determine the estimated glycemic index of various foods, it was concluded that brown rice has a GI of 55.

Brown Rice for Type 2 Diabetes

The postprandial blood glucose response of ten healthy and nine diabetes type 2 volunteers to brown rice was compared to milled rice from the same batch and variety. The total sugar released in vitro was 23.7% lower in brown rice than in milled rice. In healthy volunteers, the glycemic area and glycemic index were, respectively, 19.8% and 12.1% lower (p < 0.05) in brown rice than milled rice, while in diabetes type 2 volunteers, the respective values were35.2% and 35.6% lower. The effect was partly due to the higher amounts of phytic acid, polyphenols, dietary fiber and oil in brown compared to milled rice and the difference in some physicochemical properties of the rice samples such as minimum cooking time and degree of gelatinisation. The study concluded that brown rice is more beneficial for diabetes type 2 and hyperglycemic individuals than milled rice.


Researchers have found that eating five or more servings of white rice per week was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. In contrast, eating two or more servings of brown rice per week was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. The researchers estimated that replacing 50 grams of white rice (just one third of a typical daily serving) with the same amount of brown rice would lower risk of type 2 diabetes by 16%.


Pre-germinated brown rice is made by soaking brown rice kernels in water to germinate. Blood concentrations of fasting blood glucose, fructosamine, serum total cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels have been shown to favorably improve on a pre-germinated brown rice diet, suggesting that diets including pre-germinated brown rice may be useful to control blood glucose levels in diabetes type 2.