Undoubtedly, brown rice is better than white rice, as it is chewier, more nutritious and gets easily digested. Brown rice is whole, natural grain that is either unmilled or partly milled; while white rice is milled and has its husk, bran and germ removed. Brown rice is processed and milled to prevent spoilage and increase the storage life of the grain. It is then polished to give a bright, white, shiny appearance. Brown rice is considered a preferred choice, as it does not have the brown-colored bran covering removed. However, many people prefer white rice as it is fluffier and cooks faster than brown rice. Read through the following lines to know if brown rice is better than white rice or not.
Brown Rice Vs White Rice
Brown Rice Vs White Rice
- Brown rice is produced by removing just the outermost layer of a grain of rice (the husk). The layers beneath the husk, like the bran layer and the germ layer, are further removed to produce white rice.
- The bran layer of brown rice that is removed to make white rice contains oil. Rice bran oil helps in lowering LDL cholesterol, a benefit which is not found in white rice.
- Brown rice has more fiber than white rice. One cup of brown rice contains 3.32 grams of fiber, while the same amount of white rice has less than 1 gram of fiber. We all require from 25 to 38 grams of fiber in our diet daily.
- Brown rice is an excellent source of nutrients, such as magnesium, manganese, zinc, selenium, iron and vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6, which white rice has at reduced levels.
- Although vitamins B1 and B3 and iron are added back to white rice, magnesium is not added back to white rice. One cup of cooked long grain brown rice contains 72 mg of magnesium, while the same amount of white rice contains only 22 mg.
- Brown rice is less constipating, as compared to white rice.
- Brown rice is more beneficial for diabetes type 2 and hyperglycemic people, than white rice, since the former helps control blood glucose levels.
- White rice takes about 10 to 20 minutes for cooking, while brown rice takes a considerably longer time to be properly cooked.
- Since all the essential nutrients are removed on processing white rice, it has a longer shell life as compared to brown rice, which should be consumed within 6 months, when stored under normal conditions.
