Brown rice: benefits and harm to the body

Many modern diets include cargo cereal, or brown rice, which is still unusual for our lands. Those who want to lose weight began to be interested in a new way: experts say that brown rice saturates the body with vitamins and helps to cleanse the body effectively. Let's talk in more detail about the benefits and harms of brown rice, and also consider some interesting recipes.

How brown rice differs from ordinary

First of all, about brown rice you need to know that this is the most common cultural rice that we are used to seeing on our tables. Its difference from white cereal is not in variety or specific coloring, but only in that brown cereal is not polished. However, this small difference carries a lot of significant changes in its composition.

Plain white rice after harvesting from spikelets is peeled from scales, removed from bran and the germ, after which starchy healthy cereals get into our food. Brown rice is not peeled or polished, therefore, the cereal is braned: it contains much more protein, healthy dietary fiber and vitamins, which are accumulated in the shell of the cereal. Such cereal saturates the body well and promotes weight loss, if used correctly, following a few rules, which will be discussed below.

Brown rice is very common in the cuisines of Asian and southern countries, and is also found in Mexican food. Like all products, it is not completely safe for the body and requires specific processing and normal consumption in order to bring health benefits. Proper cooking makes it a valuable source of nutrients, and in addition, we must not forget about its unique delicate taste and aroma.

Well-boiled brown rice acquires a delicate nutty aroma and delicate sweetness, some varieties have a pronounced fruity flavor, therefore, such rice goes well with both salty dishes and desserts, and tastes not only in the form of heat, but also after cooling. It is most often added to side dishes with vegetables, combined with fish and chicken, or made with cereal. Brown rice also makes excellent casseroles and stews.

Light and satisfying cereal is ideal for a diet menu, having a balanced composition. Many losing weight note its taste qualities as a plus: there is no feeling that on a diet you are deprived of delicious food. Nevertheless, many nutritionists and culinary specialists note that the difference between brown and white rice is small, so there is no need to delete the usual porridge from your diet. It is enough to alternate different side dishes to maintain health and variety in food.

Composition and calorie content

Due to the fact that the protein embryo and bran are preserved in brown rice, its caloric content slightly decreases, and the nutritional value increases. It contains about 330-360 kcal per 100 g, 7.5 g of protein, up to 2 g of fat and more than 75 g of carbohydrates per 100 g.

Krupa combines all the value of white rice and the benefits of its bran, having:

• calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, iodine, selenium;
• vitamins of groups B, PP, K, H, E;
• antioxidant substances, sorbents;
• valuable amino acids and beneficial fatty compounds.

One of the important factors for allergy sufferers is that rice does not have gluten or gluten, which often cause intestinal irritation and impair absorption in many people.

Nevertheless, you need to know that brown rice contains toxic substances that protect the grain from external influences.That is why it is very important to properly process and cook cereals in order to remove all unnecessary, leaving only useful components.

On a day, an adult is recommended to consume no more than 200 g of prepared cereal for women and 250 g for men. In this case, brown rice is advised to eat infrequently: up to 2-3 times a week or during unloading. Various healing methods are also used:

• arrange cleaning days on one rice;
• diet for 3-5-7 days;
• detox lunch after walking or drinking.

Brown rice is recommended for baby food and the elderly, is introduced into the diet for medical reasons. Let us further consider how brown rice is useful and how it heals the body.

Glycemic Index of Brown Rice

The rate of increase in glucose in brown cereals is equal to 45-50 units. This means that such porridge can be consumed in diabetes. I must say that any cereal that carries a large supply of carbohydrates will raise glucose in the blood, so you need to use such dishes carefully. However, in comparison with many cereal counterparts, it is brown rice that is one of the least difficult cereals for the pancreas.

Moderate consumption will help normalize blood sugar levels, avoid sudden jumps and drops, maintain satiety for several hours and eliminate the nervous feeling of hunger. The glycemic index of a product is important not only for diabetics. This indicator must be taken into account when drawing up the correct diet, children, workers, sports diet.

High GI foods contain fast-breaking carbohydrates. Therefore, the blood sugar level from them rises sharply, but after a short time falls, and the body wants to eat again. Low GI suggests that the product is digested slowly, gradually saturating the body. In combination with swelling fiber, such food provides a feeling of satiety for a long time: the body is engaged in digestion and does not require snacks.

On diets, this property will help to lose weight, not overeat, will allow the digestive system to recover from the disease without overloading the body. In a sports, children's and working diet, this will maintain an energy charge for several hours without awakening a feeling of tiredness and lethargy. In addition, it helps to calm the nervous system and not think about food all the time.

In brown rice, a combination of vitamins and minerals, valuable dietary fiber, amino acids and “long” carbohydrates allows you to stay awake and active all day. At the same time, the product tastes very good. In the diet of diabetics and losing weight, it will be an excellent base for desserts with dried fruits without harm to health.

What is brown rice good for?

Brown rice, or cargo, is rich in valuable ingredients, which has a beneficial effect on the body:

1. It normalizes the nervous system, removes signs of stress and chronic fatigue, strengthens cells.
2. Participates in hematopoiesis, preventing the development of anemia and accelerating the blood supply process, which contributes to the rejuvenation, weight loss and proper functioning of the whole organism.
3. Strengthens bones and stimulates the development of the muscular system, increases tissue elasticity.
4. Cleanses the intestines and removes toxins, gives a binding effect, normalizes the absorption of nutrients.
5. Enhances the antioxidant effect, inhibiting the action of carcinogens and radicals.
6. It supports the health of nails and hair, makes the skin supple, contributing to the saturation of cells with moisture.
7. It stimulates the immune system.
8. Promotes rejuvenation and renewal of the body.
9. Helps to remove fluid from the body and relieve swelling.
10. Participates in the normalization of reproductive function in men and women.
11. Eliminates signs of diarrhea and intoxication.
12. Increases stamina and performance.

The product is considered dietary and is useful in comparison with other cereals due to the content of bran, the absence of allergenic proteins, a reduced content of carbohydrates, and also a valuable vitamin complex.

Of course, brown rice is not a panacea.It can be enjoyed with food for a variety and improvement of overall well-being, and for a powerful healing effect it must be combined and alternated with other healthy products.

Is brown rice allowed for children

In a children's diet, brown rice is useful for normalizing appetite and stool, protects against the formation of toxins, and improves metabolism. Valuable minerals in cereals will help the children's body develop. Especially important are calcium and manganese, which strengthen bones, as well as iron, which is involved in the process of hematopoiesis and protects the child from the development of anemia.

No need to be zealous: the product may be difficult for the baby’s delicate digestive system. Therefore, before serving, such rice must be boiled or even chopped in a blender. The main task is to soak the rice in order to protect the dish from heavy compounds that are dangerous for the child's body.

The smallest such food is better not to offer, and introduce cereals into the diet from 5-6 years. You can give a side dish once a week. Since children do not need to limit carbohydrates, since active kids manage to spend all their energy, it is better to give children ordinary rice, and to supply the mineral complex from other products.

With brown rice, you can not only prepare a delicious exotic pilaf with seafood or a vegetable side dish for meat and fish, but also offer children a delicious charlotte or porridge with fruits, nuts and honey - this will be a very useful dessert for a child's developing body.

Useful properties of brown rice for weight loss

In the process of losing weight, several nuances are important:

1. Cleaning the body - removing toxins from the liver, freeing the intestines from toxins, normalizing metabolism.
2. Appetite control - eating nutritious foods and cheating hunger.
3. Reducing the calorie content of foods.
4. Physical training and activity.

All these points are easily observed when eating brown rice:

1. It perfectly cleanses the digestive tract, improving absorption.
2. Creates a feeling of satiety for several hours, allowing you to eat less.
3. It nourishes the body with the necessary substances to increase stamina, energy and improve well-being.
4. Removes excess fluid from the body.
5. It improves skin condition, supports muscle tone, which is important when leaving extra pounds and during detox.
6. Improves blood flow and stimulates the burning of adipose tissue.

Using brown rice as a dietary product, you can go through a diet easier, without feeling unwell, lethargic and irritable.

Experts recommend several diet options with brown rice.

1. Detox after overeating. If you drank the day before or ate a lot of heavy food, you do not need to compensate for this by fasting the next day, because the body will need strength to restore its normal state and cleanse itself. You can resort to a rice diet. It is enough to eat a small portion of rice with vegetables for breakfast and afternoon tea. It acts as a sorbent, cleanses the intestines and saturates the body with the necessary elements.
2. Cleansing day. Once a month or two, you can arrange unloading on rice. Giving the body a little rest from digesting heavy fats, proteins and sweets, you cleanse the blood and intestines, restore strength and feel easier. On the day of cleaning, it is necessary to eat only brown rice in small portions. You need to cook it without sugar and additives, with a small drop of quality vegetable oil. You can also supplement the diet with herbal decoctions.
3. There are mixed diets, which include brown rice. They last 3–7 days, after which time the product will need to be abandoned. Combine brown cereal with vegetables and fruits, steam diet meat, eggs and beans. Grain is introduced into different dishes: from the first to dessert, and the portions are calculated taking into account the balance of the b / w / y and a decrease in the daily portion of calorie consumption.

Patients with medical indications should always consult a doctor before introducing new products into the diet to take into account all the individual nuances.

Brown rice in medicine

Official medicine treats brown rice neutrally, without prohibiting its use. Western and Asian nutritionists are actively introducing it into programs for weight loss and healing for various diseases, since the product is light, rich in composition and very pleasant to taste.

With diabetes

Brown rice can be an excellent substitute for high-calorie cereals for patients with diabetes. It helps maintain normal sugar levels, in addition, it fights cholesterol and promotes weight loss. Brown rice can not only be a side dish, but also replace harmful desserts: porridge with a delicate nutty taste on honey (or without a sweetener), with dried fruits and seeds will become a luxurious dish that will allow you to forget the hardships of food restrictions.

With pancreatitis

For inflammation of the pancreas, hunger is usually prescribed, and light brown rice can be introduced into the diet to support the body. It is rich not only in carbohydrates, but also in beneficial amino acids and vitamins, making it easier for the body to recover from an exacerbation of the disease.

To reduce the risk of deterioration of health, rice must be thoroughly soaked and boiled, then you can grind porridge in a blender. Such mashed potatoes will help maintain the normal functioning of the digestive tract and not overload the internal organs. Of course, the dish should be prepared without the addition of sugar and fat.

With gastritis

Those who suffer from digestive discomfort due to gastritis should be very careful with unpolished rice. You can use the product, but be sure to boil it, grind it, combine it with milk and other soft components. Often such rice is better not to eat, so as not to provoke exacerbations of the disease. You can give preference to white rice, which does not bring any harm.

For constipation

People prone to the formation of hemorrhoid cones and constipation, brown rice should not be consumed or need to be limited to small portions. Diets built exclusively on a brown product will have to be abandoned, because it can give a firming effect: tie the stool and aggravate the situation. However, there is a loophole - to eat brown rice with laxative products: for example, cook porridge with pumpkin or pear. Then the components will balance each other.

With gout

Rice cereal is one of the allowed and even useful for gout due to its antioxidant and cleansing effect. There are no purines and other compounds that can provoke seizures. Brown rice, in contrast to the polished version, will help to cleanse the body faster, and in addition, contains significantly less calories. Naturally, you need to cook such rice with dietary meat and herbs, avoiding legumes, smoked meats, spicy sauces, tomatoes and broccoli.

Brown rice recipes for traditional medicine

Brown rice grains are a useful cereal to prevent the development of many health problems. In which cases the properties of the product are used to treat:

General body cleansing
Brown rice is great for cleansing the human body. The infusion is prepared as follows.

1. You need to pour 100 grams of rice per liter of water.
2. After this, the composition, previously closed by a lid, must be put on low heat for 40 minutes.
3. Next, the broth must be filtered and cooled.

You need to take one third of a glass 1 time per day. The procedure is carried out for 10 days. The medicine will normalize the metabolism and remove toxins from the body. Along with this, it improves blood composition and liver performance.

To remove salt deposits in the joints
Rice groats are used to regulate the metabolism in the body. With its help, excess salts are removed from the joints, and bone tissue is protected from arthrosis and arthritis.

The infusion is prepared as follows:

1. Brown rice is taken and laid out in 5 glasses, two tablespoons each.
2. Rice is poured with cold water, and the glasses are cleaned in a dark place.
3. After a day, the water drains and pours fresh. This procedure is carried out for 5 days.
4. On day 6, rice from the first glass is boiled and eaten. New rice is poured into the first glass and poured with fresh water.
5. The next day, a similar procedure is carried out with rice from the next glass.

According to this scheme, it is necessary to take a useful composition within 40 days. During this period, you need to drink a lot of water and eat vegetables. This will help restore potassium in the body. Infusion is used in the morning. You can eat only after four hours.

You need to know that rice has a serious effect on the human body, so the course of purification can be carried out no more than once every 12 months.

Harm and contraindications

It would seem that such an amazing and useful product should not have any contraindications, because it carries only good for the body. But this is not entirely true: brown rice is a rather heavy cereal due to the high content of dietary fiber and calorie content, so it should be consumed sparingly and monitor well-being.

Some people have a tendency to constipation, gas and flatulence - in such cases, brown rice must be included in the diet with extreme caution. Overeating porridge can not only bring an excess of calories, but also give a fastening effect, cause bloating, especially in a busy intestine.

It should also be borne in mind that brown rice requires careful processing. In order not to cause poisoning from poisons from bran or heaviness in the stomach, the cereal is soaked and well boiled. This is especially important for the diet of the elderly and children.

Caution in use is necessary for people suffering from the following ailments:

• gastrointestinal diseases, gastritis, colitis;
• urolithiasis;
• cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and atherosclerosis.

In such cases, you need to seek the advice of a doctor: he will tell you if you can brown rice and how to use it without harm to health.

How to cook brown rice: recipes

To avoid harmful effects on the body and get a tasty dish with a pleasant and unlike anything aroma, brown rice must be properly processed.

1. First, the rice is soaked for several hours, it can be overnight, but 6 hours will be enough. This is done in order to make the rice soft and swollen, then it will boil faster and be more delicate in taste. But, besides this, it is necessary to soak the product so that toxic substances come out. In small amounts, they are not harmful to the body, but a high concentration can cause symptoms of poisoning.
2. After soaking, the rice is washed again with running water and put on fire. After boiling, let the cereal go for about 10 minutes, then drain the water again and rinse the rice from the kettle.
3. Then the porridge is poured again and cooked for about 20–35 minutes until cooked. The drained rice is wrapped in foil or a towel right in the pan and allowed to reach. Only then can oil and other fillers be added to the cereal. Salt, sugar and spices can be introduced during the cooking process so that the grains are nourished from the inside.

The process seems to be painstaking, but in fact there is nothing intimidating in it, and the result gives pleasure even to the most selective gourmets.

Since brown rice came to us from Asian cuisine, you can find a lot of recipes for its preparation with seafood, exotic berries and fruits, as well as herbs.It goes well with cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, and also perfectly harmonizes with garlic, various onions, aromatic vegetables such as carrots, bell peppers and even celery.

In dietary dishes, to increase nutritional value, it is often prepared with vegetables and beans or meat products, as well as mushrooms:

• corn, peas, nuts, beans or soy;
• tuna, shrimp or crab, mussels;
• oyster mushrooms and other types of mushrooms;
• chicken, lamb.

It is combined with eggs and cottage cheese. True, tofu is often used with brown rice. In addition, slices of steamed or fresh fruits and berries, dried fruits, honey or maple syrup, and all kinds of nuts are often added to rice.

You can cook porridge in milk, for dietary purposes, usually choose a coconut or almond product, but animal fats and calcium are important for children, so they take cow's milk.

Often brown salads are supplemented with fresh salads based on lettuce, spinach, arugula, cabbage of different varieties, tomatoes, daikon or turnips. In the fillings for pies or cabbage rolls, such rice is not used, but filling them with squid will be useful.

To prepare a diet cocktail, take Greek yogurt, pieces of fruit, for example apples, peaches, plums, grapes, strawberries, add a little boiled brown rice, honey or sugar and beat in a blender. To make the cocktail more satisfying, you can add nuts and dry protein. Such a mixture for breakfast gives lightness, vigor and energy for the whole working day, and also does not complicate physical training.

Hearty Brown rice Rice Ideas
Asian pilaf is ideal: rice is stewed with pieces of chicken or seafood, adding carrots, celery, garlic and soy sauce. You can make honey mustard sauce. In the roast with lamb or beef, add tomatoes, bell and hot pepper. For a snack with mushrooms, usually put a lot of onions and seasonings to taste. Rice with fish is accompanied by carrots and watered with lemon juice.

To cook a hot appetizer, rice must first be boiled without salt, and then stewed with meat and vegetables, introducing the ingredients in the right order: meat first, then hard vegetables, then porridge and spices, sauce.

For an ordinary side dish with vegetables, it is enough to add in a small amount of oil string beans or peas, leeks, peppers and other favorite ingredients, introduce rice and season with soy sauce, lemon juice and herbs. Dietary rice is not fried, steamed pieces of vegetables are added to it and watered with a drop of cold-pressed vegetable oil.

You can cook a delicious rice omelet by frying vegetables, mushrooms, adding porridge and bay dish with beaten eggs.

How to choose and store brown rice

Brown rice is a sensitive cereal requiring strict storage conditions. The fact is that polished rice becomes dry, but cereal in the shells retains moisture, and this becomes a favorable environment for the development of fungi and bacteria. Therefore, the 2 main signs that you should pay attention to are the smell and dampness of rice. If the product starts to smell mildew when stored at home, it will have to be thrown away, because even the heat treatment will not clean such a mess. In the store, you should not buy wet rice with an unpleasant aroma or a strange coating on the surface.

Also pay attention to important signs:

1. The color of the rice should be light brown or reddish. Too dark or light grains will indicate either a fake or that the product is spoiled.
2. The size of the nucleoli should be approximately the same: all the rice should be of the same variety and crop.
3. “Healthy” cereals have a rather high cost, in addition, these are usually imported goods. You can find them today not only in health food stores, but also in ordinary markets.A cheap cereal with an uncertain appearance should raise doubts about its quality.

Such rice is stored in a tightly closed cereal jar, and in no case in an open bag. Many people recommend keeping “live” rice in the refrigerator: this way it will retain its valuable properties longer and be protected from environmental influences.

You can not keep brown rice in the sun and outdoors. Organic oils are stored under the shell, which are easily oxidized, triggering harmful processes in the cereal.

Brown rice is not only a valuable drug for weight loss and recovery. Therefore, when weighing its benefits and harms, do not forget that this is just a tasty, unusual and piquant snack that will add zest to a boring diet.

Photo of brown rice