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Rice Nutrition Facts

Rice Nutrition Facts
Rice is a cereal grain, the seed of the Asian or African rice plants. Rice is the third most commonly grown grain in the world, and is responsible for 50% of the calories consumed each day by 50% of the world's population. The process of removing the hull of the grain results in brown rice. This is the least damaging to rice's nutritional value. White rice is milled and polished and destroys a large percentage of rice's nutritional value, making it much less valuable as a source of nutrition in the human diet than brown rice.
Interesting Rice Nutrition Facts:
Milling and polishing brown rice into white rice destroys 90% of the B6 vitamin, 67% of the B3 vitamin, 50% of the manganese, 50% of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, 100% of the fiber and 100% of the essential fatty acids found in brown rice.
One cup of cooked long grain brown rice contains 216 calories, and is low on the glycemic index.
Once up of cooked long grain rice contains 88% of the daily recommended intake of manganese, 34% of the DRI of selenium, 23% of the DRI of phosphorus, 21% of the DRI of copper, 20.9% of the DRI of magnesium, and 18.6% of the DRI of vitamin B3.
Manganese, which is found in high amounts in brown rice, produces energy from carbohydrates and protein. It is also involved in fatty acid synthesis. These factors all contribute to a healthy nervous system, and to the production of cholesterol (required by the body).
Manganese is an important component of an antioxidant called superoxide dismutase which protects against free radical damage.
The consumption of brown rice, as opposed to white rice (which is considered highly refined), is associated with maintaining a healthy body weight. The consumption of whole grains such as brown rice has shown to help women avoid gaining weight.
The fiber in brown rice has shown to be helpful in preventing colon cancer. The selenium content in brown rice also contributes to lowering the risk for colon cancer.
Rice bran oil has shown to help reduce the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol is believed to be a risk factor for developing heart disease.
Consuming at least 6 servings per week of whole grains such as brown rice has shown to slow the progression of atherosclerosis, which is the plaque build-up on blood vessel walls. It has also shown to reduce the progression of narrowing of arterial passageways.
Plant lignans are found in abundance in brown rice. This phytonutrient is believed to help protect against breast cancer, heart disease, and hormone-dependent cancers.
Brown rice is much healthier than white rice, which is believed to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes because of its highly refined state.
Brown rice and other whole grains, when refined as little as possible, can help to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Magnesium, found in brown rice, is believed to help reduce the severity of many diseases including asthma, as well as reducing migraine headaches, and lowering blood pressure.


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