Sunday, July 12, 2009

Brown Rice vs. White Rice

Can I tell you about some really GREAT hot cereal we had this morning?  It's just like cream of wheat, but it's made with brown rice instead.  I bought it pre-packaged as "Arrowhead Mills Whole Grain Organic Rice and Shine Hot Cereal." It tastes nutty / ricey and brown rice is really beneficial with Vitamin B, thiamin, niacin, and phosphorus, etc...  very good for you!  It's also gluten-free and wheat-free (many people have sensitivities to gluten and wheat).  Most importantly, brown rice contains the whole bran, germ, and endosperm... whereas white rice only has the endosperm.  (More info. below)

Here's the easy prep... I put 2 cups of the brown rice cereal into a container with 6 cups filtered water, covered it tight, and let it sit on the counter overnight.  Soaking grains gets rid of phytates and partially sprouts the grains in order to release active enzymes which greatly helps your body digest the food and uptake maximum nutrition (phytates preserve the grain before it's eaten but they interfere w/ your body's absorption of the grain's nutrients if not soaked).  Then just pour the whole thing into a pot in the morning and simmer for 2 minutes.  Done!  Top it off with a little maple syrup and milk, and it's really good!

Here's some helpful information from wikipedia:

White rice comparison

Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of caloriescarbohydrates, and protein, although many types of brown rice contain more fat than white rice. 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 asVitamin B1Vitamin 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 (FDA)[citation needed].

One mineral not added back into white rice is magnesium; one cup (195 grams) 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.[1]

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

In addition to having greater nutritional value, brown rice is also said to be less constipating than white rice.

[edit]Cooking and preparation

A nutritionally superior method of preparation using GABA rice or germinated brown rice (GBR), developed during the International Year of Rice, may be used.[2] This involves soaking washed brown rice for 20 hours in warm water (38 °C or 100 °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.

[edit]Storage and preservation

Brown rice can remain in storage for 6 months[citation needed] under normal conditions, but hermetic storage and freezing can significantly extend its lifetime. Freezing, even periodically, can also help control infestations of Indian meal moths.

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