Brown Rice or White Rice?

tipoywizard

tipoywizard

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I have seen a lot of articles saying that Brown rice is much healthier than the regular white rice. Is it true? What are the major differences between the two types of rice? Or are there any type of rice aside from the two that are more nutritious?

:hungry:
 
There is no difference between the 2 biologically - they are one and the same. Brown rice has the bran left on, white rice has had it removed through polishing (the husk is removed from both types of rice). Just like white or wholemeal flour...

Brown rice needs longer to cook before it takes more time for water to get into the rice with the bran on it, and it is also more fibrous and is digested slower so gives less of a carbohydrate (sugar) rush. And as a result of the husk and being more fibrous is considered better for you because of the higher fibre content. I'm not certain if there are more calories or nutrients in brown rice as well, but would guess that at the minimum there are more nutrients.

Brown rice apparently contains more magnesium, manganese, calcium and zinc (etc) than white rice, so I guess that is also found in the 'brown shell' that is under the husk, but this is where life gets interesting.

Taking the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service National Nutrient Database figures from the following sites...
Brown rice, medium grain cooked, http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6456
White rice, medium grain cooked, unenriched. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6573
... I get this which I did as a pdf which compares them.

But I should point out that even though brown rice has roughly 2-5 times the quantity of vitamins and minerals, the quantities that are in either brown or white cooked (unenriched, medium grain for the sake of comparison) rice are so low per 100g of cooked rice (roughly 1/2 cup) that neither comes close to really even helping to provide you with the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of these vitamins and minerals... for example - 100g of cooked white rice (unenriched) has 3mg of calcium in it; the same brown rice has 10mg - so 3 times as much.. great but the RDA for calcium 1,000mg.
 

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  • comparison of nutrional values of brown and white medium grain cooked rice.pdf
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I've never been able to get used to brown rice by itself. Instead, I go half and half - I mix equal amounts of white and brown rice together. I do this after it's been cooked, due to the differing boiling times. I find it to be much more palatable this way and I'm still getting some of the dietary benefits. I often do this with pasta too.
 
I do like the taste and texture of brown rice over white but that may be because I was brought up on white boiled rice that I found extremely boring to eat.

I haven't had brown rice for a while....
 
If I am not mistaken, brown rice has more fiber than white. Also, brown rice does not raise blood sugar in the same way that white rice does. I feel it important to point out here that there are many different types of rice that are "white." Basmati rice and sushi rice are not the same as the Mahatma long or short grain rice most people in the US buy and cook.

Brown rice is an acquired taste like anything else. Properly cooked, it has a nice chewy texture and mildly nutty flavor, but all brown rice is not the same, either. The stuff I get at the farmer's market seems smaller grained than what I see at the supermarket.
 
Night Train said:
I do like the taste and texture of brown rice over white but that may be because I was brought up on white boiled rice that I found extremely boring to eat.

I haven't had brown rice for a while....
Click to expand...

Can brown rice be cooked in the rice cooker?

It's the longer cooking time that generally stops me bothering with brown rice, although I do like it.
 
Night Train said:
I do like the taste and texture of brown rice over white but that may be because I was brought up on white boiled rice that I found extremely boring to eat.

I haven't had brown rice for a while....
Click to expand...


I. also, was raised eating white rice. We never had brown rice at all.

But I'm so used to eating it, that white rice is what I mainly cook & eat all the time. :wink:
 
Arch said:
Can brown rice be cooked in the rice cooker?

It's the longer cooking time that generally stops me bothering with brown rice, although I do like it.
Click to expand...


I've never tried cooking it in the rice cooker. Even though it can cook brown rice. If I were to do it, I'd have to look in the manual to see. :wink:
 
I was always under the impression that brown rice cooked quicker than whit rice? Hmm, from what I am reading from most of you, it seems you are all of the belief that white cooks quicker! I will have to look into this again, experiment time I guess.
With that being said, brown rice is the most nutritious and of course very good if you are diabetic or have certain illnesses. It has all the goodies left in it like most of the posters have already pointed out, one of this being bran, It is also said to help with weight loss, so if you are looking to shed some pounds and still eat rice, go for brown.
 
I actually really enjoy brown rice, I sometimes prefer it than white rice. But where I live it is not common to find white rice in restaurants and homes unless it is a health/natural restaurant or if the person cooking is really keen on healthy eating. I like brown rice but it takes way longer to prepare it. So I'll usually just stick to white as most people i know and my own family prefers white rice and it's easier to prepare for my busy life.
 
elles-belles said:
I was always under the impression that brown rice cooked quicker than whit rice? Hmm, from what I am reading from most of you, it seems you are all of the belief that white cooks quicker! I will have to look into this again, experiment time I guess.
With that being said, brown rice is the most nutritious and of course very good if you are diabetic or have certain illnesses. It has all the goodies left in it like most of the posters have already pointed out, one of this being bran, It is also said to help with weight loss, so if you are looking to shed some pounds and still eat rice, go for brown.
Click to expand...


Brown rice cooks for at least 45 minutes or more. :wink:
 
elles-belles said:
I was always under the impression that brown rice cooked quicker than whit rice? Hmm, from what I am reading from most of you, it seems you are all of the belief that white cooks quicker! I will have to look into this again, experiment time I guess.
Click to expand...
I am just going by what my parents did.
Doesn't mean they were right though.:wink:
 
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