Black rice has only recently gained popularity. Honestly, I had never heard of black rice, but noticed it in the grocery store and did some research on how it is different than the white and brown varieties we are used to seeing on the grocery shelf. What I found was that black rice is a powerful superfood that we should all be incorporating into our diet. Cultivated in Asia, but now also being grown in the Southern US now, it is an unmilled rice, meaning the outer husks are left on. It has immense nutritional benefits, which we will cover here.
Being faintly sweet, black rice is used mostly for dessert dishes in Asia, but it can certainly be incorporated in any dish or eaten alone for a power packed lunch. It contains anthocyanin, which is the powerful antioxidant commonly found in blueberries. One teaspoonful of black rice has more antioxidant powers than a spoonful of blueberries because of the anthocyanin content, but it contains less sugar. Black rice also contains more fiber and vitamin E than blueberries.
Inexpensive black rice is said to fight against many diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and heart attacks. It is also low in fat and a great choice for those who are on a strict diet or trying to lose weight. It is also a potent anti-inflammatory, which helps fight infections and diseases, and has also been found to help with anti-aging.
This superfood should be on everyone’s table because of its dominant benefits over its other rice counterparts now that it is readily available in the US. Because it is whole, unmilled rice, you should store it in the refrigerator until ready to use to keep the nutrients at peak strength. Also because it is unmilled, the cooking process takes longer, but you can always make a weekly batch up at one time. You use two cups of water to one cup of rice, and either soak the rice for 30 minutes, followed by cooking for 30 minutes, or skip the soaking process, and cook for one hour. Nutritious, delicious, and expensive, black rice should be on everybody’s superfoods list!
