34
&
NATURE’S
BEAUTY
May 2016 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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IT’S A NICE
ADDITION TO
YOUR DIET
By Tanya Tyler,
Editor/Writer
Many of us have
probably done it:
showered a newly
married couple with
rice as they emerged from a church,
ready to begin their lives together.
We might not have thought
much about the tiny white grains
we sent sailing through the air
(and no, rice does not make birds’
stomachs burst after eating it),
but rice is one of the most widely
eaten foods in the world, especially
in China, India, Indonesia, Japan
and Southeast Asia. More than 3
billion people around the world
depend on rice as the staple of their
diet, according to the U.S. Rice
Producers Association. Rice is third
in worldwide production after sugar
and maize. In Thailand, the phrase
translated “to eat” literally means
“to eat rice.”
Rice has been part of the human
diet for more than 10,000 years,
originating in China’s Pearl River
Valley region. Arabian travelers
Rice
introduced rice into ancient Greece,
and Alexander the Great brought
it to India. There are more than
40,000 varieties of rice. Some
you may be familiar with include
Arborio; basmati; jasmine; and
forbidden rice, a black rice that
turns purple when cooked and has a
sweet taste and sticky texture.
Rice is generally classified as
long, medium or short grained.
When rice is cooked, the kernels
swell to at least three times their
original size. Rice kernels do not
contain vitamin A, so people
There are more than 40,000
varieties of rice.
who get most of their calories from
rice are at risk of vitamin A deficiency. Rice is gluten and fat free,
low in sodium and an excellent
source of complex carbohydrates.
Brown rice is the best choice for
eating because it uses the entire
grain; only the inedible outer husk
has been removed. The high-fiber
bran coating gives brown rice its
light tan color, a nutlike flavor
and a chewy texture, and the oil
in whole brown rice lowers cholesterol. In contrast, white rice
has had the husk, bran and germ
removed. Brown rice is an excellent
source of manganese, selenium (a
trace mineral that has been shown
to substantially reduce the risk of
colon cancer), phosphorus, copper,
magnesium and niacin (vitamin
B3). Milling and polishing rice
makes it lose a significant amount
of its nutrients. According to The
Food Network, enriched or con-
verted rice contains calcium, iron
and many B-complex vitamins, but
brown rice is slightly richer in all
these nutrients because they are
more natural. Research is showing
brown rice and other whole grains
substantially lower the risk for type
2 diabetes.
Rice can grow in diverse venues,
from terraced hills to flooded rice
paddies. Small rice seedlings are
hand planted into rice paddies that
are then filled with water. Arkansas,
Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi
and Texas grow 76 percent of the
rice produced in the United States.
California supplies almost all of
America’s sushi rice, according to
the California Rice Commission.
And why do people throw rice at
newlyweds? It’s to ensure they have
good luck, health, prosperity and
fertility. You’d probably be better
off eating rice than throwing it.