Black Rice: A New Entry

Black rice (Oryza sativa indica) is a type of rice that is grown in a very limited number of countries in the world and is commonly referred to as Forbidden Rice. 

This name comes from the fact that it was once highly restricted, meaning that only

royalty was allowed to eat it, due to its scarcity.

Black rice has been an important cultural element for thousands of years and remains a crop that is grown in a rather limited supply. 

That being said, research on black rice has shown that it has a more impressive nutrient profile than any other type of rice. 

Black rice comes in a few different forms; often it’s a glutinous variety, but there are black jasmine rice varieties as well. 

That dark color is due to an excess of anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant that’s the culprit for most darkly colored plants. 

Same with blueberries, açaí berries, and concord grapes, along with the colored versions of normally paler plants like purple cauliflower, purple corn, and blood oranges is due to presence anthocyanin.

Benefits of Black Rice

1. Healthy Heart

• Protect the health of your heart by replacing white rice with black rice in your daily diet.

• This type of rice contains more fiber than other varieties, as well as a negligible amount of fat,both of which are good for heart health.

• The anthocyanin content of black rice has been found to have a significant effect in reducing cholesterol.

• Atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease in which the arteries get clogged due to the build-up of plaque.

• This could lead to a number of other serious problems like coronary artery disease,stroke, peripheral artery disease, or kidney problems.

• But Consumption of black rice was found to reduce atherosclerotic plaque build up and keep our heart healthy.

• Though all these studies have been conducted on animals, it is safe to assume that black rice could produce similar effects on humans as well.

2. Weight Management

• Black rice has characteristics that are essential for weight management and weight loss. 

• it is low in calories, low in carbohydrates, and high in dietary fiber. Thus, it makes you feel fulland keeps hunger pangs at bay.

• In fact, a study conducted in Korea tested the difference in weight loss brought about by white rice and a mix of brown rice and black rice in 40 overweight women in 6 weeks.

• At the end of the study, they found that the brown/black rice group showed significantly higher weight loss and lower body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage than the group that consumed white rice. 

• This just goes to show that both brown and black rice can work exceptionally well in diet therapy for obese women.

3. Protect From High Blood Pressure

• The dietary fiber that we get from black rice (or any whole grains in general) has been found to protect cardiovascular health by not only maintaining normal blood pressure but also by reducing lipid levels, regulating body weight, improving glucose metabolism, and reducing chronic inflammation.

4. Prevent Fatty Liver Diseases

• The liver is one of our biggest organs. In addition to its detoxifying role, it is also responsible for converting nutrients in food into substances that the body can use, and it also regulate some hormones.

5. Helps to keep Eyes healthy

• The anthocyanin antioxidants found in foods like blueberries and black rice help to protect  eyes from degenerative problems.

• A study conducted on rats found that the anthocyanidins extracted from black rice were highly effective in preventing and reducing the retinal damage caused by a fluorescent light.