If brown rice is better than white rice, clearly purple (or black) rice is even healthier, right?
A few days back, I paid my third visit to a downtown Phoenix sushi establishment, intent on some sashimi. I’m a lover of buttery consistency when it comes to salmon and tuna, and Harumi checks that box. While in the devouring process, I glanced up and was smacked in the face by some bold claims on their flat screen monitor.
According to research from the Department of Food Science at Louisiana State University, a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants.
Interesting propaganda. I’m not saying they were wrong or even misleading, but let’s dig a little bit into the health benefits. This, as it often does around here, is about to turn into a discussion on challenging assumptions. From Consumer Reports:
Recent research has linked an as yet unnamed compound in that layer to reduced blood pressure and a lower risk of clogged arteries. And black rice, in particular, contains a high level of anthocyanins, a class of disease – fighting antioxidants.
Those anthocyanins are what gives black rice its namesake color, so we know that they are present in abundance. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that our bodies are reaping the benefits. You may remember our discussion on rice from a few months back. We were able to say definitively that brown rice is less processed than white, but that doesn’t actually make it healthier. All those vitamins and minerals are locked in the outer bran of brown (and black) rice, and we can’t break them down. You’ll probably still need to eat your blueberries.
As a rule, whenever I see ads touting the magic properties of a particular food, I’m skeptical. I want to see the studies demonstrating the impacts the food actually has on our overall health. In this case, it seems to be more marketing than reality.
But enough about the health benefits; what you really want to know about is the taste. I’d crushed black rice on numerous occasions before, but never with sushi. As a favor to all of you (smirk), I had to be the guinea pig.
If you close your eyes, the spicy tuna roll tastes not a bit different from one prepared with your standard sweet and sticky white rice. My fish was exquisite and the sushi rice was tremendously prepared, so the flavor profile, consistency and overall experience were on point.
Next time you’re out at the sushi bar, eat your rice in moderation, whether it’s white or black, and always question the claims you see displayed on big flat screens.
Msquared says
If be interested in hearing what you find on black rice for a future post.
Gabe Kapler says
Me too.
bill says
Stop reminding me that my mother was right all those years!
Gabe Kapler says
Ha, thanks, Bill.
lien says
I don’t know if black rice is healthier than brow rice but now a day results from scientific research can be very biased because of the huge economic influence by the food industry … i can’t help think about margarine where scientific research way back when showed that it was better for the heart than butter … so it puts more burden on the consumers to find out where the truth lies 🙁 and i agree with you about eating in moderation … i have been eating brown rice at home for the last 10 years and i also occasionally mix with black rice because i believe in whole food which is not stripped of essential nutrients from nature … the only time i eat white rice, in small quantity, is at sushi and indian restaurants … black rice and brown rice are complex carb vs simple carb in white rice, it takes longer for the body to process the brown/black rice than white rice so the amount of sugar released into our system is more gradual and since the black/brown rice is kinda harder i do the chewing more and i find it tastier 🙂
Gabe Kapler says
Quality stuff, Lien. Thank you.
Mikey B says
Instead of schlepping all the way downtown, try Blu Shusi in Litchfield Park accros from the Wigwam. Yum’s the word.
Gabe Kapler says
Thank you for the tip, MB.
Omar A. Gonzalez says
I’ve been eating black rice for over a year, sometimes not as often as I’d like to, for some reason the people around me cringe at black rice (Mental), anyways forbidden rice is great!