This assertion was given by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) as it continuously promotes the consumption of brown rice and its food products.
“It is even more delectable in ‘goto,’ ‘lugaw’ and can be sprouted into ‘toge’ for other food preparations,” said Dr. Marissa Romero, food scientist at the PhilRice’ Rice Chemistry and Food Service Division, as she extolled the virtues of brown rice.
Romero, who heads the research and development activities for brown rice, added: “Frequent consumption of brown rice may reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, heart disease, and stroke. It may also diminish cancer and diabetes.”
Romero’s exultation of brown rice is found in her paper “Nutritional and Health Aspects of Brown Rice” which she has been presenting before large audiences.
She said that polishing, not its color, distinguishes brown rice from other forms of edible rice. Polishing the brown rice, she added, removes 15% of proteins, 85% of fats, 80% of thiamine, 70% of ribofl avin, 68 % of niacin, 90% of calcium, 75% of phosphorous, and 60 % of other minerals.
White rice, brown rice
To understand better these two forms of rice that is prepared for food, PhilRice came out with a fitting literature about it.
The difference between white rice and brown rice is mainly due to the processing of the unhusked rice grain or seed which is composed of the hull or husk, the endosperm, and the embryo. The hull is its hard cover, the endosperm, which is composed of the starch, sugar, protein and fats, is the storehouse of the embryo, and the embryo, also called germ, is where the shoots and roots are developed when conditions for their development are met.
In producing the brown rice, only the husk or the outer layer is removed. When it is polished to produce white rice, the bran layer and other compounds associated with the embryo are removed. The bran is the one that gives a healthy dose of oil and fiber.
Conversely, the white rice is just a refined starch without the original nutrients of the rice grain. There are about 12 nutrients found in a rice grain, PhilRice said.
In the food ranking system, the brown rice is as an excellent source of manganese, and a good source of selenium, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, and niacin (vitamin B3). When it is polished further, all the dietary and essential fatty acids are destroyed, its nutrient content reduced in varying percentages.
Other rice forms that come in different colors are called pigmented rice varieties. They can be purplish, reddish, or violet in color. The unpolished pigmented rice has more anthocyanin which has multifaceted roles in health maintenance.
Among the more popular pigmented rice are the Tapul, Ballatinaw, Calatrava, Dinorado, Kabankalan, La Castellana and Malido. They are mostly from traditional rice varieties, usually found in the highlands.
Widely consumed before
Before the 1950’s, rice-eating families in the country cooked and consumed only brown rice. It was because the only mode available to remove the husk of the palay was by pounding it with the use of wooden pestle and mortar, or by stone grinder, and later with the use of rubber rolls.
When the rice milling machine was introduced, the use of brown rice as food shifted to white rice. Soon, the brown rice was derisively called “dirty rice” and the diminished liking for it started.
There is no specific variety for it nor special cultivation needed to grow the rice plant and produce the grains for brown rice.
In 2000, the Asia Rice Foundation re-kindled interest for it by promoting it as the healthier food than the white rice. Sadly, the odds for the redemption of the lost glory of the brown rice is uphill.
Rice-eating Filipinos, as can be observed, are wont to prefer the white rice.
Among the reasons why brown rice is not preferred ise due to its rough texture when cooked, it is comparatively expensive, and its shelf-life short.
Melissa Dacumos, PhilRice analyst, said there is a way, though, to make the brown rice widely accepted: “For its texture, two to three seconds of polishing can improve it and for its shelf-life, sealed plastic container makes it last longer in storage.”
On the other hand, Cesar Mamaril, former IRRI scientist and currently PhilRice consultant, said: “Many people don’t like brown rice because of its rough texture. But this is probably due to improper cooking.” He said it must be cooked with a ratio of 1:2 of rice to water and it must be soaked in water at least one hour before cooking.
Brown rice toge
Brown rice, according to Romero, can be made into to “toge,” just like the monggot oge. “Sprouting brown rice is even more desirable,”- said Romero, adding that the sprouted brown rice (togeng bigas) has gamma-aminobutyric acid, about 10 times the level in white rice, which is anticancer and good for brain metabolism. It also contains fi – ber, which is good in managing constipation and in fi ghting colon cancer plus loads of other nutrients, she said.
In germinating the brown rice, Romero said, the rice is soaked in water for 12 hours, drained, and then wrapped in cheesecloth for 24 hours. The resulting germinated brown rice (GBR) can be cooked as alternative to white rice, as an ingredient in food products, or into a beverage.
A beverage of GBR with carabao’s milk, called “Nutri Rice Milk” has been developed. The product is a good source of protein, fiber, iron, and calcium.
