Brown Rice has long been known as the healthy alternative to white rice. Ironically,brown and white rice are the same grain. The former with its bran and germ (outer layers) left intact, the latter having it removed . A 100g of cooked medium grain brown rice provides about 112 calories while the same amount of cooked white rice provides 130 calories. There is 1.8g of dietary fiber in cooked brown rice but only 0.30g in white rice.
One of the benefits of brown rice is it has a low glycemic index. The glycemic index of short grain white rice is 83, which is high, while the GI for brown rice is 50. Low GI foods allow your body to digest them slowly and make you feel full longer and thus eat less. This is one of the reasons why some people go for the brown rice diet. It helps them lose weight.
Health Benefits of Rice Brown
- Brown Rice is a good source of B vitamins that help the body maintain energy levels.
- It is also rich in Vitamin E which is beneficial to the hair and skin.
- Other benefits of brown rice include maintaining healthy blood pressure and strengthening the immune system.
- Another one of the benefits of brown rice is it helps you manage your blood sugar levels.
- One of the other benefits of brown rice is it supports the heart, muscles and bone health. This is due to the present of calcium. The calcium content in brown rice is more than 3 times higher than white rice.
- 100 grams of cooked brown rice contain 1.8 grams of dietary fiber.
Calories - 112
Minerals Contained
- Potassium - 79 mg
- Phosphorus - 77 mg
- Calcium - 10 mg
- Magnesium - 44 mg
- Iron - 0.53 mg
- Sodium - 1 mg
- Manganese - 1.097 mg
- Zinc - 0.62 mg
- Copper - 0.081 mg
- Also contains trace amounts of other minerals.
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.102 mg
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - 0.012 mg
- Niacin - 1.33 mg
- Pantothenic Acid - 0.392 mg
- Vitamin B6 - 0.149 mg
- Folate - 4 mcg
- Contains some other vitamins in small amounts.