Brown Rice – The Thought Is Good, The Taste Is Bad!
3 decades plus later, when I was Editor In Chief of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science
(PJCS), early 2000s, at the PhilRice Los Baños Station where I was holding
office courtesy of Diego Ramos, Station
Chief, I remember retired PhilRice Executive Director SRO and retired IRRI
scientist Cesar Mamaril talking expertly
and enthusiastically about brown rice. They talked about having to soak before
cooking – but not about the taste.
Today,
I can tell anyone: Brown rice? There is no love lost between us.
Here comes Mervalyn
Tomas with her article at the PhilRice website: “Study: More Filipino
Consumers Aware Of Health Benefits Of Low-GI Rice[1]”
(27 August 2021, Philrice.gov.ph).
“GI” is glycemic index. According to
the Mayo Clinic, “The glycemic index is a system of assigning a number to
carbohydrate-containing foods according to how much each food increases blood
sugar[2].” Medical
application – If you suffer from high blood pressure, or have a tendency to it,
eat brown rice instead of white rice for your own sake.
(lower image[3]
from Xtra Foods)
I’m glad that in fact I am “low blood” – which means I don’t
have to eat brown rice.
I know brown rice is nutritious. Jillian Kubala, MS, RD says, “Brown rice is a food often
associated with healthy eating” (23 May 2018, “Is Brown Rice Good For You[4]?” Healthline, Healthline.com). Ms Jillian says the benefits of brown rice are:
1. It’s nutritious – 1 cup of brown rice
contains 216 calories, 44 gm carbs, 3.5 gm fiber, 1.8 gm fat, 5 gm protein. You
also get copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, niacin, pantothenic acid,
phosphorus, pyridoxine, selenium. thiamin, and zinc.
2. Helps lose weight – Since fiber keeps
you fuller longer, you consume less calories, eventually weigh less.
3. Benefits heart – From a study of 560,000
people: Those who ate the most dietary fiber had 24-59% lower risk of
developing heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disease.
4. Prevents diabetes – From a study of
197,000 people: “swapping just 50 grams of white rice for brown rice per week
was associated with a 16% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”
Thank
you! But I still don’t like the taste of brown rice! So what should I do?
Ms Jillian lists several ways to consume brown rice not as plain brown rice. A few of these
are:
1. Make a grain bowl for lunch with brown rice,
veggies and protein.
2. Top brown rice with eggs, salsa, avocados
and black beans for a savory breakfast.
3. Use brown rice instead of white rice when
making stir-fries.
4. Instead of white pasta, incorporate brown
rice into your favorite soup recipes.
5. Use brown rice in your curry recipes.
6. Swap white pasta with brown rice pasta.
7. Sauté brown rice with olive oil and garlic
for a flavorful carbohydrate option.
Wonderful!@517
[1]https://www.philrice.gov.ph/study-more-filipino-consumers-aware-of-health-benefits-of-low-gi-rice/?fbclid=IwAR1YIhBn8fo1ynnRaNX43e4-pRtl9Z686ya6CkCe03KoiQSuvMMQVu40Z5U
[2]https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/glycemic-index-diet/art-20048478
[3]https://www.facebook.com/xtrafoodscares/posts/-white-rice-or-brown-rice-here-are-some-of-the-healthy-benefits-of-both-by-mealp/3277691442298991/
[4]https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-brown-rice-good-for-you
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