Why we are throwing away the best part of rice

WE’RE eating the wrong part of rice – and throwing the best bit away, researchers claim.

The experts said rice bran – the grain’s covering – is a rich source of proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. Producers say it is one of the most wasted resource in the world, with 60million tonnes dumped each year. In other cases it is removed from the grain during processing to be used as animal feed.

However, it could be a useful health food, added to cereals, baked in bread or cakes, or turned into a smoothies. US researchers at Colorado State University showed that rice bran was particularly high in the B vitamins – thiamine, niacin and B6 – which are vital to energy production, cardiovascular health and combating depression.

The scientists used a technique called food metabolomics – or foodomics – which identifies in a food the quantity of different molecules that boost metabolism. They found 453 in three rice varieties, including 65 shown to have potential medicinal and health attributes and 16 that had not been reported for rice bran before.

Professor Elizabeth Ryan, whose work is published in the scientific journal Rice, said: ‘Rice bran could deliver more than 400 individual compounds when consumed and it is likely that many of them function in a teamwork manner to deliver health benefits.’