When rice is harvested, it must be processed before being sent to market. White rice is a type of rice that has had the husk and outer layers removed. Brown rice, however, is left with these outer layers intact, and since the bulk of the nutrition is available in these layers, brown rice is better for the consumer. While white rice may not be the most nutritious type of rice available, there are still some nutritional benefits.
VitaminsWhite rice loses much of its nutritional value because of the polishing process, but still manages to have a good amount of a few vitamins. One serving has 17 percent of your daily amount of thiamin, 12 percent of your daily value of niacin, and 23 percent of your daily value of folate. These are all B vitamins. Thiamin (B1) is needed to break carbohydrates down in the body. Niacin (B3) is needed in this same process. Folate, also known as vitamin B9, is needed for cell growth.
Calories and FatOne serving is considered one cup of rice. One serving of this rice has 205 calories. A majority of these calories come from the carbohydrates in the rice. White rice has a low fat content, with only 0.4 g per serving. There is 0.1 g of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat per serving. In total, this is only 1 percent of your recommended daily value of fat.
FiberFiber is an extremely important part of the human diet, and serves a number of dietary functions. Foods high in fiber help to maintain intestinal health, prevent cancer, fight obesity, and affect the probability of getting both heart disease and diabetes. For this reason, most dietary recommendations include a high consumption of whole grains, including brown rice. Many consumers, however, omit the “whole” from the "grains", and eat a lot of heavily processed, stripped grain products like white bread and white rice, probably because these flavors appeal to their palates more. Sadly, these foods do not have the same dietary value that whole grains do, and heavy consumption of them can lead to dietary imbalances.
MIneralsWhile people ate brown rice traditionally, a growing trend towards white rice consumption has led to nutritional deficits in some parts of the world. In some areas, rice producers are trying to stave off this problem by nutritionally fortifying their white rice with essential vitamins and minerals, which is a positive step. However, it is impossible to replace the valuable fiber stripped away with the bran and germ of the rice grain.
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