Health benefits of brown rice

A series of rice utilization workshops co-sponsored by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and USA Rice Federation collaborators provide a better understanding of the health benefits of rice.

Heightened emphasis on daily whole-grain consumption in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans inspired a 2077 workshop that developed an action plan for the rice industry using the whole grain health claim for the first time on brown rice packages starting in 2008.

According to MyPyramid.gov, an interactive tool based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the amount of grains people require depends on their caloric needs, which varies by age, sex and physical activity. MyPyramid.gov encourages males and females aged 9 through 50 and older to consume 3 "ounce equivalents" of whole grain foods daily. Within the grains food group, one "ounce equivalent" for whole grain rice would be one-half cup of cooked brown rice.

Another benefit is consumers no longer have to wait the traditional 50 minutes it takes to cook brown rice. ARS food technologist Harmeet Guraya, also with the ARS Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research Unit (FPSQ), developed a patented brown rice treatment that significantly reduces brown rice's long cooking time to 20 minutes, the cooking time of white rice.