The colourful rice is packed with health benefits, from slashing your risk of chronic diseases, to potentially helping you lose weight
Eating a ‘little-known’ colourful ‘superfood’ known as purple rice has been linked to reducing your risk of various diseases. Its chewy texture and light sweetness go perfectly with any stir-fried, grilled, soup and braised cuisine.
Purple rice is more commonly known as ‘riceberry’, and is primarily grown in northern parts of Thailand. Although it has been around for years, few people outside of Asia know it exists and how helpful it can be for health.
The grain is the result of cross-breeding different types of rice, which has resulted in a vivid purple shade. Even better, it has various health benefits.
A portion of riceberry rice is packed with vitamin E, beta carotene, and gamma oryzanol which are powerful antioxidants. These can help boost the health of your skin and eyes as well as combat the risk of developing heart disease, certain cancers, and other chronic illnesses.
The rice is also chock full of fibre and eating fibre is known for boosting digestion and gut health. According to the NHS, eating plenty of fibre is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.
Fibre helps the digestion and absorption of nutrients. It also decreases the contact time of carcinogens within the intestinal lumen – which is the space within the intestines that allows digested food to pass through.
This grain also contains three times more iron than other rice varieties. We need this essential nutrient to support the function of red blood cells in our body.
According to the NHS, men need about 8.7mg a day, while women aged 19 to 49 should aim for a bit more (14.8mg). Iron deficiency affects the immune system, making the body more susceptible to illness and infection.
Iron helps create haemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells. These cells carry oxygen around the body, and organs can be damaged without enough oxygen. The heart also has to work harder to compensate for a lack of red blood cells, which can lead to heart conditions like an abnormally fast heartbeat or heart failure.
Riceberry contains zinc too, which helps break down proteins and produce collagen. This can help improve skin health and its appearance. It will also do the same for hair and nails too, as these are made from collagen.
Rice can be a filling food because of the carbohydrate level, which can keep you feeling full and energised for longer. This may help with weight management as you’ll be less tempted to snack or overindulge on other foods.
One downside of this potent superfood is that it can be fairly difficult to obtain outside of Thailand. It can also be fairly expensive at places that stock the item, so it might not be the best day-to-day alternative.
