Benefits of Introducing Rice in Your Diet

Some of the many benefits of including rice in your meals are the ability to provide the body with a quick and practically instant energy, help your body maintain the proper bowel movements and provide the body with the essential B vitamins it requires. It also helps sugar levels in the human body by avoiding sudden and abrupt spikes.

Some of the little less known benefits include skin care, the prevention of heart disease and dysentery. Also, the fact that rice is one of the most allergy free grains in the world, gluten and cholesterol free, plus very low in fat, means that it is a one of the healthier food choices available.

This food can be eaten as an only meal or prepared with numerous other foods to give you a larger, more nutritious offering. Although many cooking techniques tell you to rinse the rice prior to and after cooking, what you're doing in reality, is washing away the many natural nutrients that are part of this foods healthy benefits.

It is a very low cost food and is a real staple in many countries of the world.

It can be cooked very easily, and doesn't require any fancy cookware. Some people do buy rice cookers though, because they will produce absolutely perfect rice, each and every time, providing you follow the directions for its use.

Studies have shown that the consumption of rice has definitely increased by 40% in the last 2 decades, while other research indicates that there are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice, although only about 10% of that portion is actually processed and sold in the marketplace.

When it is all said and done, you must eat the right kind of healthy foods and get plenty of daily exercise, so you'll be able to burn off all those calories you've added during the course of your regular day.

Rice is therefore, more than just an ordinary staple in your kitchen, because it is way to versatile and can be cooked by steaming, microwave, baking, boiling or prepared in an electric rice cooker. It can also be used for preparing multiple meals and it's the basis for many tasty and mouth-watering recipes that range all the way from breakfast to lunch, dinner, dessert and your nighttime snacks.

Regretfully, because of processing techniques, white rice is stripped of its natural properties which include fiber, proteins, thiamine, calcium, magnesium and potassium. If you've ever looked at the ingredients in a bag or box of white rice, you'll have noticed it says "enriched." This is mainly because it is full of added fortifications and additives, because this stripping process removes the natural elements. It is actually so deficient in nutrients, it doesn't even supply the minimum daily requirements recommended by the Food & Drug Administration. It is because of this that the rice has to be chemically altered with vitamins and iron to be sold in this country's supermarkets.

This is, of course, the main reason why brown rice is so much higher in the minerals and vitamins such as fiber, proteins, etc.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirms through a study they implemented, that "brown rice" is by far, the healthier choice for you rice grains.

Brown rice is very high in selenium, which is an important trace mineral that helps to reduce our chances of developing certain types of cancer, along with heart disease, inflammatory conditions and rheumatoid arthritis.

It also contains over 80% of the daily requirements of manganese, which helps the human body develop the crucial fatty acids that make the healthy forms of cholesterol(HDL) and is beneficial to maintaining the health of our nervous and reproductive systems.Brown rice hangs on to the healthy type of oils and can help reduce the LDL or bad cholesterol in the body.

Six to eight servings of brown rice weekly, will help lower the development of plaque within the artery walls and reduce the chance of contracting high cholesterol and heart disease.

Some studies have associated the high use of whole grains, such as brown rice, with declining rates of colon cancer. The fiber adheres to cancer-causing substances and toxins, and helps to eliminate them from our body, and keep them from clinging to the cells in our colon.

Brown rice also all the proper components to stabilize digestion, prevent or relieve constipation and promote the proper elimination.I realize that a lot of people affiliate antioxidants with blueberries or green tea, but most likely don't realize that brown rice is another source of antioxidants.

Brown rice releases its sugar slowly, which helps to keep your blood sugar stabilized and in a contained fashion, making this a vast improvement for those suffering with diabetes, compared to the stripped down version. Studies in Asia show a definite link between eating white rice and the risk of type 2 diabetes, new research indicates that those individuals that consume at least two servings of brown rice weekly, can reduce their chance of developing diabetes from 2% up to 11%.

Of course, if you can find Organic Brown Rice, this is a better choice, but if you can't buy organic, make the switch from white rice to the brown rice and take that first initial step to improving your health.

The majority of doctors recommend to their patients that have diabetes, to include brown rice over white rice in their diets. It has very high levels of neurotransmitter nutrients that help prevent Alzheimer's disease and is also highly favorable in aiding the production of sex hormones, as well as the normal functioning of the nervous system.

In summation, you can easily see that rice is very versatile in terms of flavoring options and the ability to compliment other foods and should be a staple in your household as well.