Is brown Rice OK to use instead of white rice?
Brown rice actually has some advantages over white rice and we prefer for people to have brown rice on most occasions, unless white rice is the only option. White rice starts out as brown rice, but after the husk, bran and germ are removed, then the starchy core, or endosperm is left. Brown rice has had just the outer husk removed, which is inedible, and because the bran and germ remain, the brown rice has 3.5 grams of fiber per cup of cooked rice, vs. 0.74 grams left in the white rice. The goal is to get at least 30 grams of fiber in one day, so you can see where brown rice has quite a leg up on white rice. Another type of rice that is nutritionally slightly better than white rice is “parboiled or converted” rice. This rice is steamed before being dried and then polished to make it white. This steaming pressure forces B vitamins and minerals into the endosperm from the bran and germ. Also, white rice is often enriched, so these enriched rices will have more thiamin, folate and iron, t
