Is brown rice really healthier than white?

_noob_
_noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I see "but the nutrients are more bioavailable in white" a lot.

Or could there be a case made that in an otherwise adequate diet the benefit of eating whole grain would outweigh unnecessary excess nutrients whereas in a micronutrient deficient diet the added bioavailability of the added nutrients would be more beneficial than any perceived or actual benefits from the brown rice?

Replies

  • Shesaid_destroy
    Shesaid_destroy Posts: 128
    As with most grains - maybe even all grains - the nutrients are in the shell of the grain. That's why we sould eat grains that still have their bran on. Personnaly, rice is the only food i cannot eat the 'full version' of... I don't like the taste, whereas i love the taste of rice cooker white rice so much!
    I'd say whole grain always wins though.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    Here's what an article on Live Strong. com says about Brown rice vs. white rice:

    "Brown rice is less processed than white rice. The rice grains have the outer hull removed, but the underlying bran and germ layers are left on the grain. The bran layers are what make the rice brown. Brown rice is more nutritious than white rice because the bran contains vitamins, minerals and oils. It also has more fiber than white rice. Brown rice is sometimes called whole-grain rice. The glycemic index of brown rice is 55, putting it about equivalent to long-grain white rice. However, brown rice is a better food than white rice because of the additional fiber and nutrients it contains. Since a larger amount of fiber contributes to fullness, you may eat less and thus have a lower glycemic load from brown rice."

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/280554-glycemic-index-of-brown-rice-vs-white-rice/#ixzz2at1edZ6P

    So, brown rice just has more nutrients than white rice. Not sure what "bioavalible" nutrients the others are claiming.
  • shadus
    shadus Posts: 424 Member
    What happens with white rice is they polish off all the high nutrient area... it looks prettier and it gets easier to digest.

    Think of it this way... have you ever eaten corn and seen it in your poop? That is largely because the hull of the corn isn't tremendously digestible compared to the internals of the corn. The same is true of rice.

    Calorie wise, they're both high calorie, nutrient wise, whole grains are ~always~ better for you.
  • ecdce
    ecdce Posts: 129 Member
    I much prefer white rice. To the point where if my options are brown or nothing, I'll take nothing with a smile. It has a yucky texture and not rice flavour and doesn't stick properly and I hate it. And I hate when chipotle runs out of white and tries to offer brown like its done sort of acceptable substitute.

    Wild rice, on the other hand, is little grains of delicious. Is it even rice? I don't know. And I don't care. I have no idea how it stacks up on the good-for-you scale, but it tastes so good. Equally good to white. Maybe even tastier.

    And now I'm hungry.


    But not for brown rice. EFF brown rice.
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    Looking at a direct comparison of long grain rices on nutritiondata.com it looks like the differences aren't really enough to matter.

    White had more vitamins, brown a little more minerals. Brown more fiber (not much fiber to begin with), white less fat (important because brown has a lot of omega 6's vs. omega 3's.

    So it looks to me like you're just splitting hairs to avoid white due to only wanting to eat whole grain, and that taste preference should really be the deciding factor.
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    I like brown rice better, now. I think it holds up to veggies better.
  • jeredlbb
    jeredlbb Posts: 9
    Looking at a direct comparison of long grain rices on nutritiondata.com it looks like the differences aren't really enough to matter.

    White had more vitamins, brown a little more minerals. Brown more fiber (not much fiber to begin with), white less fat (important because brown has a lot of omega 6's vs. omega 3's.

    So it looks to me like you're just splitting hairs to avoid white due to only wanting to eat whole grain, and that taste preference should really be the deciding factor.

    The reason you are seeing near the same nutrition info is that white rice is "Enriched" because it has almost no nutritional value once the bran is removed. The brown rice is in its natural state and not "Enriched". So, enriching means that nutrients are added back in to the white rice after the fact. These added nutrients do not equal the natural ones in brown rice even if the nutrition label leads a person to believe so.

    Jered
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    Looking at a direct comparison of long grain rices on nutritiondata.com it looks like the differences aren't really enough to matter.

    White had more vitamins, brown a little more minerals. Brown more fiber (not much fiber to begin with), white less fat (important because brown has a lot of omega 6's vs. omega 3's.

    So it looks to me like you're just splitting hairs to avoid white due to only wanting to eat whole grain, and that taste preference should really be the deciding factor.

    The reason you are seeing near the same nutrition info is that white rice is "Enriched" because it has almost no nutritional value once the bran is removed. The brown rice is in its natural state and not "Enriched". So, enriching means that nutrients are added back in to the white rice after the fact. These added nutrients do not equal the natural ones in brown rice even if the nutrition label leads a person to believe so.

    Jered

    Studies I've seen listed on here say that the nutrients are more bioavailable in the white rice though, so would the nutrients being "natural" really matter if your body can't use them?

    There's lots of nutrients in legumes and greens that your body can't ultimately use as well.

    I also guess this somewhat applies to wheat as well. It seems like we're splitting hairs worried about "whole grain" when the enriched versions offer nutrients that are easier for our bodies to utilize. Without adding wheat bran or some other form of processed fiber, wheat doesn't really have much fiber either (comparing to brown rice).
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