Enjoy the health benefits of rice

A staple ingredient in cuisines worldwide, rice is an important source of complex carbohydrates, fibre and essential nutrients. Learn more about its beneficial nutrients and discover new ways to add rice to your diet.

• Complex carbohydrates: Energy-providing complex carbohydrates help to absorb fluids, contributing to white rice's reputation as a remedy for diarrhea and heartburn
• Folate: Enriched white rice is an excellent source of this B vitamin, which helps to lower the risk for birth defects and heart disease. A 250 gram (one cup) serving of cooked rice has 92 micrograms
• Magnesium: Brown rice provides high levels of this mineral, which may improve PMS and kidney stones. A 250 gram (one cup) serving of cooked brown rice provides 84 milligrams
• Oryzanol: Research is exploring this compound's potential to relieve menopausal hot flashes, lower cholesterol levels and prevent the harmful conversion of nitrogen compounds into cancer-causing nitrosamines. Oryzanol — a mixture of different forms of ferulic acid and terpene phytochemicals — is found in the bran layer of brown rice
• Selenium: This antioxidant mineral is associated with prevention of allergies, asthma, cataracts, infertility and prostate problems. A 250 gram (one cup) serving of cooked brown rice has 19 micrograms
• Vitamin B6: This vitamin may help to thwart allergies, anxiety, asthma, depression and heart disease. Brown rice provides substantial quantities — 0.3 milligrams per 250 grams (one cup) of cooked brown rice

• When cooking rice, do not rinse it before (or after), because that washes away essential nutrients
• Avoid cooking with excess water, to retain B vitamins
• Serve rice with beans, peas and other legumes for a complete protein

• Choose brown rice because it has more vitamins and minerals than plain milled white rice — stripped of many of its nutrients — and is also high in oryzanol and insoluble fibre
• However, many white rices are "en­riched" by adding back many of the nutrients

• Have rice for breakfast. Combine rice and chicken broth and cook very slowly until the rice breaks down and the mixture becomes a porridge
• Add cooked rice to pancake batter, along with herbs, to make a savoury rice pancake to serve alongside main dishes
• Add cooked rice to a cornbread batter to add an interesting texture
• Make a rice pie crust. Combine cooked rice, an egg white and some grated cheese, and bake as you would a savoury pie crust
• Make puddings with rice milk (sold in health-food stores) instead of dairy milk

Free of gluten, rice is also a natural choice for people with celiac disease or wheat gluten allergies. Try adding more rice to your well-balanced diet to take advantage of its nutritional benefits.