TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is promoting the consumption of brown rice which is more nutritious compared to the well-polished or well-milled rice, which turns white but loses the nutrients the human body needs.
The campaign aims to popularize brown rice and the pigmented varieties like the black and the red rice, which, with initial milling, only scrapes off the rice hull and retains the bran that lends its brown coloration and has a higher fiber, protein, and vitamins compared to the re-processed rice varieties.
In the structure of the grain of the brown rice, only the hulls are removed during de-hulling.
This leaves the rice bran or the thin layer next to the hull that contains fiber, minerals, vitamins and natural oils.
By additional re-milling of the brown rice for it to turn white, it affects the rice germ that contains the concentrated vitamins, minerals, and natural oils.
In well-milled rice, since it has polished the bran and the germ, when one consumes the endosperm which is all starch, the body easily transforms it to fat, explained nutritionist and dietician Ma. Maida Virtudazo of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) Region 7.
Polishing rice or re-milling rice over and over to turn white removes 15 percent of the proteins, 18 percent fat, and 70 percent riboflavin, which is involved in energy metabolism, cell respiration, antibody production, growth and development especially for the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
“Turning the darker rice to white by polishing also loses 68 percent of niacin that transforms food to energy, 90 percent calcium which strengthens the bone, 80 percent thiamine which is good in treating beriberi and countering memory loss, 75 percent phosphorus which helps in bone and teeth formation and 60% of other minerals in the grain,” said Virtudazo.
Virtudazo said consuming brown rice helps reduce the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardio-vascular diseases as well as lowers blood pressure.
DA-7 regional information officer Cheryl dela Victoria, during the Association of United Development Information Officers Monthly Meeting, cited that the Philippines is wasting 650,000 tons of food that are thrown away, wasted during harvests, poorly treated that spoils fast, or lost to poor harvest and storage techniques, based on data from the Philippine Rice Research Institute.
Citing the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology, dela Victoria said that each Filipino wastes one spoonful of rice every day, which sums up to 5 percent of every household consumption.
“Rice has been a rich source of carbohydrates, the body’s main fuel source. Carbohydrates can keep you energized and satisfied and are important for fueling exercise. It is an excellent source of many nutrients, including fiber, manganese, selenium, magnesium, and B vitamins,” said Virtudazo.
Eating too much rice also causes weight gain if the calories are not burned off through exercise.
It can be stored as fat in the body, or the starch converted into sugar can increase blood sugar levels leading to nutrient imbalance. (RAHC/PIA-7 Bohol)
