Excerpt from The Star Malaysia - 21 Nov 2017

BROWN rice is the unpolished, unrefined whole grain produced by re-moving the kernel's external layer.

The process is the least damaging to the rice's nutritional value.

Unpolished rice comes in brown, black, red, or purple; the bran layers and germ are high in fibre, vitamins, minerals and protein.( This includes vitamins Bi, B3, B6, E, manganese, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, lignans, gamma-oryzanol, dietary fibre and essential fatty acids — all essential for health and well-being.
Dietary fibre promotes a healthy digestive system and helps control blood sugar, while vitamin E and gamma-oryzanol act as antioxidants for a healthy heart.

B vitamins and manganese are important in energy production, while potassium helps the nerves and muscles as it offsets effects of sodium on blood pressure.

Magnesium and phosphorus are essential for healthy bones.
A number of studies have shown the positive health effects of consuming brown rice.

Brown rice replacement in diet has shown to be useful in decreasing cardiovascular risk factors like weight, body mass index, diastole blood pressure, and inflammatory marker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.

Another study shows brown rice re-placement reduces 24-hour blood glucose and fasting insulin responses. It shows that replacing 5og of white rice with brown rice per day helps lower type 2 diabetes risk by 16%.

Just replacing part of the daily white rice with brown is beneficial to health.

But barriers to brown rice acceptance, however, are perception of rough texture, unpalatable taste, and poor awareness of its nutritive properties.
Brown rice's texture is partially due to the way it is prepared.
It is important to cook brown rice according to the correct water ratio and cooking time.

And while cooking equipment plays a part, brown rice should always be purchased from a reputable manufacturer to ensure product quality.
Brown rice can be deliciously served with creative and healthy recipes.
EcoBrown's offers a wide range of brown rice and brown rice products for the whole family.

EcoBrown's Gold offers a combination of brown rice, red rice and black rice with natural antioxidants such as anthocyanin.

EcoBrown's Original provides the wholesomeness of nutrients.

Newly launched EcoBrown's Steam Brown Rice is nutrient packed, better tasting and takes lesser time to cook.

Starch found in EcoBrown's Steam Brown Rice is gelatinised, making it easier for the body to digest.

Choose one to begin the journey to-wards healthy living.

References

Babu P.D., Subhasree R.S., Bhakyaraj R., & Vidhyalakshmi R. (2009). Brown rice-Beyond the colour reviving a lost health food — A Review. American-Eurasian Journal of Agronomy, 2(2):67-72.

Kazemzadeh M., Safavi S. M., Ne-matollahi S.,& Nouried Z. (2014). Effect of Brown rice consumption on inflammatory marker and cardiovascular risk factors among overweight and obese non-menopausal female adults. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 5(4): 478 - 488.

Mohan V., Spiegelman, D., Sudha V., Gayathri R., Hong B., Preseena K., Anjana R. M., Wedick N., & Krish-naswamy, K. (2014) Effect of Brown Rice, White Rice, and Brown Rice with Legumes on Blood Glucose and Insulin Responses in Overweight Asian Indians: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, 15(5), 317-325.

Qi S., Donna S., Rob M. D., Michelle D. H., Vasanti S. M., Walter C. W., Frank B. H.,(201o). "White Rice, Brown Rice, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in US Men and Women," Archives of Internal Medicine, online June 14, 2010.
Kumar S, Mohanrai R, Wedick NM, Malik V, Sr Mohan V (2011). Perceptions about varieties of brown rice: a qualitative study from Southern India. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(10): 1517-22.