Rice & Nutrition
Who would have ever thought a small oval grain - rice - would become a staple food to more than half of the world's population? Rice plays a vital role in providing fuel and nutrients to people across the globe, providing one fifth of the world’s dietary energy supply.
Rice is a natural food and so the nutritional content varies somewhat depending on the rice variety, the soil in which it is grown, environmental conditions and so on.
SunRice sources only the highest quality rice from around the world which helps to ensure the very best nutrition is retained for you and your family.
Let’s take a short stroll through a paddy to see what nutrition credentials rice has to offer.
Energy (kilojoules/calories)
Rice is an excellent source of fuel for our body. It is easily digested and so the energy it supplies becomes quickly available to our working muscles, brain and body organs, like the heart and liver. The fuel that rice provides is used for physical activity, brain performance, bodily functions and everyday growth and repair.
A half-cup serve (80g) of cooked white rice typically provides about 5% of the daily energy needs for an average adult. The same serve size of cooked brown rice typically provides about 6% of an average adult’s daily energy needs.
Rice fits well with the dietary recommendations for a balanced diet. The energy (kilojoules/calories) it provides is accompanied by nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, making every mouthful count.
Carbohydrate
Around 85% of the energy (kilojoules/calories) that rice supplies comes from carbohydrate. Carbohydrate powers the body and helps to keep us moving. It is stored in our muscles and liver and released when we need it.
Nutrition experts recommend at least half the kilojoules/calories in a healthy diet should come from carbohydrates which are provided by foods such as rice.
Protein
This may surprise you but rice is not all carbs! After carbohydrate, protein is the second most abundant constituent of rice. In fact, when compared to that of other grains, rice protein is considered one of the highest quality proteins. It has all eight of the essential amino acids, which are building blocks responsible for making strong muscles.
Fat
Rice is healthy for what it contains, and for what it does not contain. Rice is low in fat and cholesterol free. Most importantly, rice is very low in harmful saturated fats and trans fatty acids, which are known to raise blood cholesterol levels.
The small amount of fat found in rice is mostly the beneficial, unsaturated type and occurs naturally in the bran as rice bran oil. Brown rice, a 100% wholegrain food, retains the bran and so is marginally higher in this healthy fat than white rice.
Dietary Fibre
The bran layer of brown rice provides valuable dietary fibre. It is well recognised that dietary fibre plays an important part in keeping our digestive tracts in good working order. A diet low in fibre can lead to a wide range of ailments and conditions, so we are encouraged to enjoy a wide variety of high- fibre foods each and every day.
Eating brown rice is a tasty and easy way to increase the fibre content of your regular diet. One cup (160g) of cooked brown rice contains around 2.4g of dietary fibre, which equates to 8% of an average man’s daily fibre needs and 9.6% of an average woman’s daily fibre needs.
Vitamins & Minerals
The vitamin and mineral content of rice varies depending on whether it is milled (white rice) or unmilled (brown rice). Brown rice has more nutrients and fibre since it retains the bran and germ where many of the vitamins and minerals are found.
Both white and brown varieties of rice contain essential vitamins and minerals, including B-group vitamins (e.g. thiamin, niacin) zinc and phosphorus. Brown rice also provides Vitamin E, plus the minerals magnesium, potassium and manganese.
Rice contains negligible amounts of sodium, with less than 5mg sodium per 100g serve. It is therefore a super food for those who need to watch their salt intake.
Other Nutritional Pluses of Rice
• Gluten free and the most non-allergenic of all grains
• Free from preservatives
• Free from additives – like artificial colours and flavours