Brown rice nutrients, traditional varieties and effects on blood sugar
What it found
Brown rice holds more fibre, vitamins and minerals than milled white rice.
Some traditional brown rice varieties digest slowly and may help people with type II diabetes manage blood sugar.
What they found
Studies in people
Traditional rice and blood sugar
Milled white rice digests quickly and can raise blood sugar fast. Some traditional brown rice varieties digest slowly, which could help people with type II diabetes.
Animal and lab studies
Coloured rice and lab tests
Red and purple rice varieties hold high levels of plant compounds like cyanidin-3-glucoside. In lab tests, this compound showed strong antioxidant activity and slowed the growth of human leukaemia cells.
Other findings
Nutrients in cooked brown rice
One cup of cooked brown rice (195 g) provides 216.4 calories, 5.03 g protein, 0.66 g fibre and 44.8 g carbohydrate. It also contains iron, zinc, calcium and several B vitamins.
Sprouted brown rice nutrients
Sprouting brown rice boosts several nutrients compared to milled rice. Gamma-aminobutyric acid rises by 10-fold, magnesium by 3 to 4-fold, vitamin E and fibre by 4-fold, and calcium by 1.5-fold.
Parboiling keeps more vitamins
In parts of India, people parboil rice before milling it. This drives vitamins into the grain, leaving 2 to 4 times more thiamine, niacin and riboflavin than raw milled rice.
What the authors conclude
- They recommend eating less milled rice and more brown rice to close nutritional gaps in diets around the world.
- They suggest breeding programs should use traditional and coloured rice varieties to add valuable plant compounds to popular rice lines.
- The authors call for more research to raise total protein and lysine levels in rice without changing its taste or texture.
How it was done
More than 2 billion people lack enough iron and zinc in their diets. Milling rice strips away the outer layers that hold most of these nutrients, proteins and plant compounds.
The authors gathered findings from many studies on brown rice, traditional landraces and coloured rice. They looked at nutrient amounts, how different types affect blood sugar and what happens when brown rice is sprouted or parboiled.
What it can’t tell you
- This work gathers findings from many different studies rather than running a single trial.
- It cannot measure exactly how much eating brown rice changes disease risk in everyday life.
- Lab results showing slowed cancer cell growth do not prove the same effect happens inside the human body.
The paper
- Title
- Brown Rice, a Diet Rich in Health Promoting Properties
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Lee JS, Sreenivasulu N, Hamilton RS, Kohli A (2019). Brown Rice, a Diet Rich in Health Promoting Properties. Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology. doi:10.3177/jnsv.65.S26Free full textPubMed 31619639DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error