Brown rice is an unpolished rice produced from paddy. Brown rice is made from fully ripened and freshly harvested paddy from fertile soil. These fully filled grains are first dried by eco-friendly drying system. It uses rice husks as fuel to generate energy to dry the paddy with the highest standard of hygiene, cleanliness, and efficiency to prevent destruction of all the nutrients especially the vitamin complex and minerals in the kernel and the bran layer. Brown rice not only has all the vitamins and nutrients, but also the natural flavor and taste of the rice grain.

After the gentle drying process, the rice grains undergo a hulling machine where only the outer husks are removed, leaving the nutrients rich bran layer and the embryo intact. Thus, brown rice has all the natural goodness in the form of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and bran oil which are still completely found on the outer brown layer.

In contrast to the milling process of white rice, repeated grinding polishing will remove the brown layer of the bran and the embryo. As a results, white rice although appears nice and shiny, is nutritionally inferior to brown rice. Unpolished brown rice is the wholesome and healthy choice of rice for the whole family!

Through centuries of traditions, we have been accustomed to eat fully polished white rice where almost all the vitamins, minerals and fiber of the brown layer are lost. We have ignorantly opted for an inferior staple food by our age-old eating habits. It is a pity really that for so long we have ignored and discard the better part of the rice grain Mother Nature has intended for us!

Mother Nature has made rice to store the energy-rich carbohydrates (starch) in the endosperm of the grain and the better and more essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fibre, and rice bran oil in the brown layer and the embryo. It is now scientifically proven that brown rice contains more vitamin B1, B2 and B complex, higher percentage of iron, calcium, phosphorus and dietary fiber than polished white rice.

For Asians, a meal is not complete without rice. Asians eat rice at least twice a day. A change from consuming white rice to brown rice will definitely increase your in-take of vitamins, minerals, and fibre, thereby enhancing our nutrition and ultimately our health. It is just a matter of simply getting use to the natural taste and slightly coarser texture of the brown rice.

Nutrients found in Brown Rice:

• Dietary Fiber - Promote intestinal activities and reduce gastrointestinal disorders and diseases; reduce constipation and risks of heart diseases and colon cancer; Useful in the diet for diabetic patients.

• Vitamin B1 - Thiamine or Vitamin B1 helps protect against heart diseases, and maintain healthy brain and nerve cells.

• Vitamin B2 - Riboflavin or Vitamin B2 increases appetite; help to reduce mouth diseases

• Other Vitamin B2 - Help to promote the healthy functions of the nervous and digestive systems; Reduce lethargy.

• Calcium - Helps build up stronger teeth and bones. Helps to maintain the salt content of the blood.

• Iron - Enhance the making of blood cells in the bone marrow and reduce the risks of anemia.

How to Cook Rice, Porridge