Brown Rice Nutrition Facts

The Chinese word for rice and food are the same namely fan, and in some of the world’s poorest countries rice is a staple food.

Typically, brown rice contains thiamin, niacin, folic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid and pyridoxine. If grown in selenium-rich soil it can be a useful source of this trace mineral, and it also has good levels of potassium, iron, zinc, manganese and magnesium and low levels of sodium. Many products, such as cereals, milks, desserts and crackers, are made from rice and can form a valuable part of a wheat-free diet.

Brown rice is rice that has undergone minimal refining and polishing and therefore still contains high levels of nutrients and fiber. The difference between brown rice and white rice is not just color! The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67 percent of the vitamin B3 (niacin), 80 percent of the vitamin B1 (thiamin), 90 percent of the vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60 percent of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. Fully milled and polished white rice is required to be “enriched” with vitamins B1, B3 and iron.