Rice color does matter, say experts

White rice may look more pleasing at the dining table, but brown rice actually does the job insofar as providing more nourishment goes.

Brown rice is rich in gamma amino butyric acid—a brain neurotransmitter and a memory-enhancing ingredient—according to Filipino “Balik Scientist” Custer Deocaris. He stressed that consuming brown instead of white rice may help improve brain development and result in better school performance. “It could also address micronutrient deficiency in kids and the country’s food security issues.”

The Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) also hopes more Filipinos would consume brown rice and cut the country’s dependency on imported rice.

FNRI said that brown, or unpolished, rice is whole-grain rice with the bran layer still on, which gives the brownish color, and which exudes a mild, nutty flavor.

Quoting the International Rice Research Institute, FNRI said that in comparison with white rice, brown rice is richer in vitamins and minerals such as vitamins B1, B3 and B6, manganese, phosphorus and iron. Brown rice also contains as much as up to four times the amount of insoluble fiber in white rice.

As a way of promoting the consumption of brown rice, DOST-FNRI has put together a recipe book that it considers a suitable and simple nutrition tool featuring standard recipes of brown rice.

The development process for the book involved literature and recipe research, focus group discussions, standardization and evaluation of sensory attributes, estimation of energy and nutritional content, and photo-documentation of the recipes.

The book features original recipes, along with their estimated energy, calcium, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C content per serving.

The “Lutong FNRI: Brown Rice Recipes Para sa Lahing Kayumanggi” is available at the FNRI Library in Bicutan, Taguig City. An e-copy of the book will be uploaded on the FNRI website.

For disease prevention

Nutritionist-dietician Blecenda Miranda Varona, RND, MPH, who advocates plant-based nutrition, has been deeply involved in a community education program to assist cardiovascular and cancer patients. She maintains a nutrition protocol that is 100-percent plant-based (or vegan), low in fat and high in fiber, using locally grown produce, such as malunggay, tomatoes, tofu (tokwa), crushed corn and beans such as mung (munggo) to go with predominantly red, black and brown rice.

The Philippine population has been known to consume the least amounts of vegetables and fruits in Asia—a measly 40 kilograms annual per capita compared to China’s 250 kg. This has led health experts to

believe that diet has played a key role in the high prevalence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases in the country.

The World Health Organization’s recommendation for vegetable and fruit consumption has been pegged at between 146 and 182 kg. At this minimum level, as much as 31 percent of ischemic heart diseases, 19 percent of strokes and 19 percent of stomach cancers could be prevented.