Best of both! The white rice with all the benefits of brown
Scientists have refined the milling process to create a rice that has all the taste of white rice but many of the health benefits of brown rice.
What is more, experiments suggest it is good for the heart, helping keep a lid on blood pressure and protecting the arteries from narrowing.
Best of both: The new rice has the taste of white rice - but many of the health benefits of brownAnd those who find brown rice tough and chewy will be glad to know that the taste is said to be indistinguishable from white rice.Brown and white rice both come from the same plant but white rice is more highly processed, with more layers stripped away.
The subaleurone layer, the thin skin responsible the heart benefits, is shaved off at the end of the process, when the milled grain is polished to a shine.
But it is left intact in the healthy white rice, which is sold under the brand Kinme Mai in Japan.
When heart expert Satoru Eguchi tested this layer in his lab, he showed it could be good for the heart.
His experiments focused on a hormone called angiotensin II, which raises blood pressure by contracting the arteries. It also plays a role in hardening of the arteries by making the cells that line the inside of blood vessels grow.
Dr Eguchi, of Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia in the US, showed that the subaleurone layer blocked angiotensin IIs harmful effects in blood vessel cells in a dish.
Working out just how the subaleurone layer does this could lead to new drugs to combat high blood pressure and heart disease, the American Journal of Hypertension reports.Dr Eguchi said: Our research suggests that there is a potential! ingredi ent in rice that may be a good starting point for looking into preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases.
He now plans to do tests on animals and then people, to check whether the rice or a drug that contains its key chemicals in concentrated form - can actually improve cardiac health.In the meantime, he advises those who find brown rice too chewy to try the healthier variety.He said: Kinme Mai tastes the same as white rice. The company says that it smells and tastes better but, to me, it is indistinguishable from white rice.It is slightly more expensive but it taste better than brown rice.Kinme Mai rice, which is golden in colour, is only available in Japan. But a similar product, Haiga Mai rice, can be bought over the internet.
Brown rice, in which only the hard outer husk is removed, is traditionally seen as the healthier choice because the lack of processing leaves it rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals.
But brown rice fans should not be too smug, as some experts now believe that it is so hard to digest that many of the extra nutrients simply pass right through the body.
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