White Rice or Brown Rice? Which is Healthier?

Rice is a versatile grain that is consumed in abundance by people around the world. It serves as a staple food for many people, especially those living in Asia.

Rice can come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes, but the most popular are white and brown rice. 

White rice is the most commonly consumed type, but brown rice is considered a healthier option.

What is White Rice?

White riceis a type of refined grain that has been ground and processed to extract the bran and essence of the grain, which helps manufacturers reduce costs and extend the shelf life of products.

However, many nutrients are lost during the milling process, and rice is typically free of fiber, manganese, magnesium, selenium, and phosphorus.

What is Brown Rice?

Brown ricecontains fiber and protein, as well as vitamins and minerals to balance carbohydrates. 

Scientific research has shown that brown rice can reduce the risk of developing diabetes and heart problems.

What is the Difference Between Brown and White Rice?

Rice consists almost entirely of carbohydrates, a small amount protein and contains almost no oil. 

Brown rice has bran. This means that it contains all parts of the grain (fibrous bran, nutritious seed and endosperm).

White rice, on the other hand, has removed the bran and seed, the most nutritious parts of the grain. A small amount of essential nutrients remains in white rice; Therefore, brown rice is considered to be healthier than white.

Brown rice is higher in fiber, vitamins and minerals

Brown rice has a great advantage over white rice in terms of nutritional content. Brown rice contains more fiber and antioxidants, as well as much more important vitamins and minerals.

White rice is a source of empty calories and carbohydrates with a small amount of essential nutrients. 100 grams of cooked brown rice provides 1.8 grams of fiber, while 100 grams of white rice only provides 0.4 grams.

The table below compares white and brown rice:

Brown rice contains antinutrients and may be higher in arsenic

Antinutrients are plant compounds that can reduce our body's ability to absorb certain nutrients. Brown rice contains an antinutrient known as phytotic acid or phytate.

It may also contain high amounts of arsenic, a toxic chemical.

Phytic Acid

Phytic acid While offering some health benefits, it also lowers our body's ability to absorb iron and zinc from food.

In the long run, eating phytic acid with most meals can lead to mineral deficiencies. However, this is unlikely for people who eat a variety of foods.

Arsenic

Brown rice may be higher in a toxic chemical called arsenic.

Arsenic is a heavy metal found naturally in the environment but is increasing in some areas due to pollution. Significant amounts have been detected in rice and rice based products.

Arsenic is toxic. Long-term consumption increases the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Brown rice tends to be higher in arsenic than white rice. However, this is not a problem if you eat rice with a variety of nutrients. A few servings a week is sufficient.

If rice is a big part of your diet, you should minimize its arsenic content.

Affects blood sugar and diabetes risk

Brown rice is high in magnesium and fiber, both of which help control blood sugar levels.

Studies show that regular intake of grains like brown rice helps lower blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.

In one study, women who ate grains frequently had a 2.9% lower risk of diabetes than those who ate the fewest grains.

Replacing only white rice with brown has been reported to lower blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

On the other hand, high consumption of white rice increases the risk of diabetes.

This may be due to a food's high glycemic index (GI), which measures how quickly it raises blood sugar.

Brown rice 50 GI and white rice 89 GI, so white rice increases blood sugar levels much faster.

Eating high-GI foods has been linked to many health conditions, including type 2 diabetes.

Health Effects of White and Brown Rice

White and brown rice can affect other aspects of health differently as well. This includes heart disease risk, antioxidant levels, and weight control.

Heart disease risk factors

Brown rice contains lignans, plant compounds that help protect against heart disease.

Lignans are noted to reduce the amount of fat in the blood, lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation in the arteries.

Studies show that consuming brown rice helps reduce various risk factors for heart disease.

An analysis of 45 studies found that people who ate the most grains, including brown rice, had a 16-21% lower risk of heart disease than people who ate the least grains.

An analysis of 285.000 men and women found that eating an average of 2.5 servings of whole grain foods each day can reduce the risk of heart disease by about 25%.

Whole grains like brown rice can lower total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Brown rice is linked to an increase in HDL ("good") cholesterol.

Antioxidant capacity

Brown rice's bran contains many powerful antioxidants.

Studies show that due to their antioxidant levels, whole grains like brown rice help prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

Studies also show that brown rice helps increase blood antioxidant levels in obese women.

In addition, a recent animal study shows that eating white rice can lower blood antioxidant levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Weight control

Consuming brown rice instead of white can significantly reduce weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist and hip circumference.

One study collected data on 29.683 adults and 15.280 children. Researchers found that those who ate more grains had lower body weight.

In another study, researchers followed over 12 women over 74.000 years and found that women who consumed more grains consistently weighed less than women who consumed less grains.

Additionally, a randomized controlled trial in 40 overweight and obese women found that brown rice reduced body weight and waist size compared to white rice.

White rice or brown rice?

Brown rice is a better choice for its nutritional quality and health benefits. However, both types of rice can be a part of a healthy diet.

As a result;

There are several differences between brown rice and white rice, starting with the way each is processed and produced.

Brown rice contains all three parts of the seed, while white rice is ground to remove bran and sap, leaving only the endosperm.

This causes a few key differences in the nutritional profile of white rice versus brown rice. In addition to being much higher in fiber, brown rice has a wider range of micronutrients, including manganese, magnesium, and selenium.

White rice, on the other hand, is often enriched with vitamins and minerals, meaning it is added back to the grain during processing. For this reason, enriched white rice is generally higher in iron, folate, and thiamine.

Unlike white rice, brown rice is technically considered whole grain. Whole grains may protect against chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.