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Brown Rice VS Black Rice: Which is REALLY Better For You?
If you’ve recently made the switch from white rice to brown rice, you’re doing the right thing. But if you want to go even further and try something different and get even more nutrients from your diet there are some black rice benefits over brown you should consider.
Black and brown rice are both low in fat and a great source of slow burning carbs. Black rice is lower in calories and is a source of fiber, black rice comes out on top. Not forgetting also that black rice has more antioxidants too.
Table of Contents
- Black Rice Benefits, The Difference in Calories
- Comparing the Carbs, Protein and Fat
- Comparing the Carbs, Protein and Fat
- Let’s take a Look at the Minerals in Black Rice
- Black Rice has Antioxidant Power
Black Rice Benefits, The Difference in Calories
If rice is something you eat a lot and you’re counting your calories, black rice would be the better option vs brown rice. A third of a cup of black rice equates to about 200 calories, the same service of brown rice comes in at 226 calories. The difference of 26 calories may not look like much of a difference, but eating an extra 26 calories a day over say a whole year can end up adding more than 2.5 pounds to your frame.
Comparing the Carbs, Protein and Fat
What about Fats, Protein, and Carbs?
One of the black rice benefits is that it’s higher in fiber and has fewer carbs, not only that, but it’s a better source of protein than brown rice. In a 1/3 of a cup serving black rice will give you 43g carbs, 6g protein, and 2g fat. The same serving of brown will give you 47g carbs, 5g protein, and 2g fat.
Comparing the Carbs, Protein and Fat
What about Fats, Protein, and Carbs?
One of the black rice benefits is that it’s higher in fiber and has fewer carbs, not only that, but it’s a better source of protein than brown rice. In a 1/3 of a cup serving black rice will give you 43g carbs, 6g protein, and 2g fat. The same serving of brown will give you 47g carbs, 5g protein, and 2g fat.
Let’s take a Look at the Minerals in Black Rice
Black and brown rice both have a similar mineral content. Both black and brown will give you about 8% of your daily requirement for zinc which helps your body fight infection, and 20% of your daily amount of phosphorus which helps filter out waste in the kidneys.
Black rice gives 6% of the daily recommended value of iron (very important for the blood) compared to the 5% in brown rice. Quite a small percentage difference to be fair, but worth noting.
Black Rice has Antioxidant Power
The most obvious difference between brown rice and black rice is, of course, the color. The American Chemical Society says that the color of black rice might make it a good source of antioxidants.
Anthocyanin which is a pigment in the rice grain gives black rice it’s dark color. Anthocyanin may aid in the fight against heart disease and cancer. A spoonful of black rice bran has more antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries according to the American Chemical Society. Even though the brown rice is not a good source of anthocyanin, it has vitamin E which may offer protection from some illnesses.
