When we think of super food, we usually think of blueberries or even exotic fruits such as acai berries coming from Brazil.
Dr. Zhimin Xu of Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in Baton Rouge has new promising research on the health benefits of black rice.
He stated, “Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants.”
Anthocyanin antioxidants are commonly found in such foods that are red, purple, or blue in color. Such as strawberries, grapes, red onion, and more.
These antioxidants have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
The only black rice I’m familiar with is Japonica Black rice and Chinese Black rice. We usually refer to them as purple rice. And it’s best cooked as rice pudding or other desserts.
Photo above is Lundberg’s Black Japonica rice, which is a mix of mahogany and black rice.
My favorite black rice is from Lotus Foods - Forbidden Black Rice. Here’s more info on their black rice:
This medium-size heirloom rice is treasured for its delicious roasted nutty taste, soft texture and beautiful deep purple color. Extremely high in a class of flavonoid antioxidants called anthocyanins, Forbidden Rice® is also rich in iron and, according to Chinese herbal medicine, considered to be a blood tonifier.
This rice provides the richest nutritional value, providing a higher level of vitamins, minerals and fiber of any bran rice, as well as a comprehensive range of amino acids, proteins, vegetable fats and essential trace elements needed by the body.”
Other than the health benefits, Dr. Xu’s research also show that pigments in black rice bran can produce a variety of colors, ranging from pink to black.
Which makes it a great alternative to artificial food colorings. As studies have linked artificial colorants to health problems as well as behavioral problems in children.
These are black rice grown in Bali. Photo from Kuan Yin.
Dr. Xu said that farmers are interested in growing black rice in Louisiana. He would like to see more people in the U.S. embrace its use. And I think they should as it’s much better than eating refined breads or potatoes.
After learning about this new information, I will be including more black rice into my diet too.
8:42 pm on September 2nd, 2010
I like purple rice as dessert, the ones from my co-worker’s rice paddy was really good but too bad they didn’t grow as many this year. It must be the dark color that packed all the goodness inside.
11:43 pm on September 7th, 2010
I also like purple rice as dessert too. It’s hard enough to eat brown rice and purple rice may be just as “unappetizing” if not eaten with something sweeter.
I think the secret is out… dark color food such as acai berries or blueberries are all packed with that good stuff too.
10:21 pm on September 9th, 2010
[...] my very first dish of black Japonica rice risotto. Since I’ve found out about how nutritious black rice is, I’ve started to add more of it to my [...]
12:45 am on September 15th, 2010
Yes, black rice or purple rice is commonly used on desserts on most Asian countries. Some have even used it as flour for their noodles. But due to the surge on popularity of black rice with its high level of antioxidants, some people had begun using black rice on their main dish and you may find some of it here: http://www.blackrice.com/recipes/. Enjoy your healthy meal.
11:16 pm on September 15th, 2010
Hi Sam,
Thanks for the link. Black rice risotto has become my favorite.