Health Benefits of Parboiled Rice

With different varieties of rice in the marketplace at your disposal, you might be wondering which one offers the most value for your money. In terms of health benefits, there are many reasons to believe parboiled rice is a cut above the rest.

There are two major forms of rice, parboiled and un-parboiled. Un-parboiled refers to milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed without parboiling. This process significantly reduces its nutritional value.

Whilst brown rice is unrefined and unpolished rice produced by removing the surrounding hull of the rice kernel.

Parboiled rice is partially pre-cooked in its inedible husk before being processed for eating. Over the years, this process has become much more sophisticated but still remains a common way of improving the texture, increasing the shelf life and health benefits of rice.

The parboiling process reduces some of the nutritional loss that often occurs during the rice milling process. This makes parboiled rice a healthier alternative with higher retention of key important elements, such as iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc, as well as the presence of fewer carbohydrates, more fibre, and more protein.

Moreover, parboiled rice brands like Big Bull Rice are rich in Vitamins B1 (Thiamine), B3 (Niacin), B5 (Pantothenic Acid), B6 (Pyridoxine), B7 (Biotin), B9 (Folic Acid), and B12 (Cobalamin), which perform several protective and regenerative functions in the body, from helping to form red blood cells and easing food metabolism to maintaining healthy skin and lowering the level of bad cholesterol in the body.

In a recent study, a researcher at the Food Science & Technology Department of Bowen University, Iwo, Prof. Bolanle Otegbayo, recommended parboiling over other rice processing methods for enhancing the nutritional content of the rice.

“Parboiling, which has been the means of processing rice in Nigeria, can be a way of improving the vitamin content and milling properties of rice and should attract the interest of food technologists and food processors to develop the rice industry,” she said.

To improve gut health, one needs the starch in parboiled rice, which acts as a prebiotic, encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. Having the right balance of microorganisms in one’s gut can impact everything from one’s health to mood, so opting for parboiled rice can be extremely beneficial to your overall health.

According to an article by Survivalmoms.com, Parboiled rice is an excellent type of rice to store for long-term purposes. It has more nutrients than brown rice, and because the bran has been removed, it won’t become rancid as brown rice will. It is also excellent in recipes because it stays firm throughout the cooking process.

“If you have been hesitant about stocking up on unparboiled rice because of its limited nutritional value and on brown rice because of its limited shelf life, perhaps parboiled rice is what you have been looking for” the report noted

For the best-packaged parboiled rice brand in the market, look no further than Big Bull Rice, which is produced in a state-of-the-art automated rice milling factory and ensures that handling is limited to the barest minimum so that consumers only get parboiled rice produced in the best hygienic conditions.

Underscored by good quality, safety and the great taste of home-grown ingenuity, Big Bull premium rice is readily available in open markets, neighbourhood stores, supermarkets, modern trade, etc. in varying SKUs (750g, 2.25kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and 50kg,) to fit consumers’ preferences.

 

Grace Ofonime Equere is a Public Relations and Marketing Communications Professional.