What is black/forbidden rice?
Black rice was a valuable commodity in ancient China as it was grown in very limited quantities. This is why every grain of this crop was seized and consumed by the Chinese royalty and nobility, and its consumption by the common folk was banned. Thus, its alternative name ‘forbidden rice’ was coined. As for the name ‘forbidden rice’, there is a lot of speculation about its origin. However, the most popular (and plausible) reasoning is that it was reserved only for Chinese royalty and common folk were banned from eating it due to its superior quality.
Though other parts of the world have been consuming black rice for many years now, it was first introduced to the United States in 1995. It is, since then, gaining more popularity and becoming more widely available in supermarkets.
Black rice is the name of a range of rice that belongs to the Oryza sativa L. species. This indica species of rice grows best in tropical zones like China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, and North East India. Fact that rice is consumed in high quantities in Asian countries has been found to be associated with lower rates of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. This phenomenon has been credited to the high antioxidant content of black rice.
Since black rice has a pigmented bran fraction, its extracts are used as a natural coloring agent in foods like bread and liquor.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Black Rice?
The main components of black rice that lend it almost all of its health benefits are anthocyanins. These proteins work as powerful antioxidants and serve a number of functions like fighting cancer, preventing cardiovascular diseases, and maintaining healthy brain functioning. Its fiber content is another major factor that we need to consider. Let’s now dive right into the benefits.
1. Is A Rich Source Of Antioxidants
When it comes to antioxidant content, no other ingredient comes close to black rice. The bran of (outermost layer) of the grains of black rice contains the highest levels of anthocyanins found in any food. In fact, it has the highest anthocyanin content compared to all other whole grain varieties like brown rice, red rice, and red quinoa (1). These anthocyanins have been found to fight against free radical damage, prevent cardiovascular disease, and treat microbial infections and diarrhea (2).
2. Fights Cancer
The anthocyanin content of black rice lends it an anti-cancer characteristic. An experimental study conducted by the Third Military University in China found that an anthocyanin-rich extract of black rice successfully suppressed tumor growth and spread of breast cancer cells in mice (3).
3. Reduces Inflammation
Researchers at Ajou University in Korea have found that black rice works wonders in reducing inflammation. The study found that an extract of black rice helped reduce edema and significantly suppressed allergic contact dermatitis on the skin of mice. This is a great indicator of the potential of black rice in treating diseases that are associated with chronic inflammation (4).
4. Aids Weight Loss
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 full and 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 (5).
5. Protects Heart Health
Protect the health of your heart by replacing white rice with black rice in your daily diet. As we already know, high cholesterol is a leading cause of a number of cardiovascular diseases. But the anthocyanin content of black rice has been found to have a significant effect in reducing cholesterol in rats in multiple research studies (6), (7), (8).
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 there’s good news! Consumption of black rice was found to reduce atherosclerotic plaque build-up in rabbits by a whopping 50% (9).
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.
6. Helps In Liver Detoxification
Fatty liver disease is, as is obvious, characterized by excessive fat deposit build-up in the liver. The effectiveness of black rice in treating this condition was tested in mice. The results showed that the antioxidant activity of the black rice extract regulated the metabolism of fatty acids and reduced the levels of triglyceride and total cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of fatty liver disease (10).
7. Aids Healthy Brain Function
Many researchers believe that oxidative stress has a detrimental effect on cognitive functioning. Hence, antioxidants like anthocyanins (that are found in black rice) could work to reduce this oxidative stress and maintain healthy brain functioning.
A study conducted by the Medical University in Bulgaria found anthocyanins to improve learning and memory functioning in rats that were suffering from an estrogen deficit (11).
Another six-year-long study conducted on 16,000 adults found that long-term consumption of anthocyanin-rich foods slowed down the rate of cognitive decline by up to 2.5 years (12).
8. Helps Prevent Diabetes
Whole grain black rice has its bran intact, which is a storehouse of dietary fiber. Since fiber takes longer to digest, it makes sure that the sugar in the grain is absorbed over a longer period, maintaining normal blood sugar levels. Thus, it helps to prevent insulin levels from spiking up and can help prevent type 2 diabetes. In fact, in a study conducted on rats, the extract of germinated Thai black rice performed much like the diabetes drug metformin and also prevented and managed the consequences of diabetes mellitus (13).
9. Improves Digestive Health
As we saw in the nutrition profile, black rice is a rich source of dietary fiber. This dietary fiber ensures that you have regular bowel movements and prevents bloating and constipation. Additionally, it can help treat a number of other gastrointestinal disorders like gastroesophageal reflux disease, duodenal ulcer, diverticulitis, constipation, and hemorrhoids (14).
10. Is Naturally Gluten-Free
One in every seven people is sensitive to the protein gluten that is present in all wheat, barley, and rye products. This gluten sensitivity can give rise to many uncomfortable symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and a high risk of developing leaky gut syndrome. Luckily, black rice is completely free of gluten. So, people who are sensitive to gluten or are suffering from Celiac Disease (confirmed allergy to gluten) can add black rice to their daily diet to fulfill their daily requirement of protein and fiber.
11. Protects 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 (15).
12. Treats Asthma
The anthocyanins found in black rice can be effective in treating asthma. A study conducted in Korea found that anthocyanins could treat (and even prevent) asthma by reducing the inflammation in the airways and mucus hypersecretion associated with this respiratory disorder in mice (16).
13. Good For The Eyes
The anthocyanins found in black rice have long been known to improve eyesight (17). 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 fluorescent light (18).
Isn’t it amazing to see how many ways you can improve your health by just making one minor adjustment in your daily diet? Keep reading to discover some more interesting facts about this superfood.
How To Select And Store Black Rice
Selection
If you like your black rice to be light, fluffy, and each grain separated, go for a variety that has longer grains. But if you prefer more chewy rice with grains that cling together, short or medium grained black rice will be perfect for you. Make sure you pick up 100% whole grain black rice (it will be mentioned on the packaging) as the majority of the nutritive value is stored in its bran.
Storage
When stored in an airtight container at room temperature, uncooked black rice can last for up to 3 months.
As for cooked rice, it can develop bacteria and cause food poisoning pretty quickly. So make sure you consume it within a day of cooking it. However, if you do want to store it for later consumption, make sure you cool it down completely after cooking it and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator, where it can last for 2 days. Do not reheat this rice more than once and when you do, make sure heat it until it is piping hot.
Still, confused about how to start including black rice in your diet? Here are some ideas that you can try out.
Black rice has a low glycemic index of 42.3.
Reference – http://www.blackrice.com/nutrition/
- “Phenolic profiles and antioxidant activity of black rice bran of different commercially available varieties.” Cornell University, USA.
- “Anthocyanins and Human Health: An In Vitro Investigative Approach.” University of Illinois, USA.
- “Anticancer activities of an anthocyanin-rich extract from black rice against breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.” Third Military University, China.
- “Protective Effects of Black Rice Bran against chemically-induced Inflammation of Mouse Skin.” Ajou University, Korea.
- “Meal replacement with mixed rice is more effective than white rice in weight control, while improving antioxidant enzyme activity in obese women.” Hanyang University, South Korea.
- “Anthocyanin extract from black rice significantly ameliorates platelet hyperactivity and hypertriglyceridemia in dyslipidemic rats induced by high fat diets.” Sun Yat-sen University, China.
- Hypolipidaemic effects of cyanidin 3-glucoside rich extract from black rice through regulating hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities.” Korea Food Research Institute, South Korea.
- “The role of black rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the control of hypercholesterolemia in rats.” University of São Paulo, Brazil.
- “Red and black rice decrease atherosclerotic plaque formation and increase antioxidant status in rabbits.” Sun Yat-sen University, China.
- “Black rice (Oryza sativa L.) extract attenuates hepatic steatosis in C57BL/6 J mice fed a high-fat diet via fatty acid oxidation.” Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.
- “Effects of anthocyanins on learning and memory of ovariectomized rats.” Medical University-Sofia, Bulgaria.
- “Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline.” Harvard University, USA.
- “Germinated Thai Black Rice Extract Protects Experimental Diabetic Rats from Oxidative Stress and Other Diabetes-Related Consequences.” Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
- “Health benefits of dietary fiber.” University of Kentucky, USA.
- “Cardiovascular benefits of dietary fiber.” Harvard University, USA.
- “Anthocyanins inhibit airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in a murine asthma model.” Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Korea.
- “Anthocyanins—More Than Nature’s Colours.” Cooperative Research Centre for Bioproducts, Australia.
- “Black rice anthocyanidins prevent retinal photochemical damage via involvement of the AP-1/NF-κB/Caspase-1 pathway in Sprague-Dawley rats.” Chengdu Medical College, China.