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Brown Rice..,
What's It All About, what's in, what's good

Brown rice is a whole grain, the seed of the rice plant. It contains a starchy endosperm that becomes white rice after milling, together with the seed germ, all surrounded by layers of fibrous bran.

In the plant, all this is covered with a protective husk. Some of the oils that would nourish the growing seed are in the germ, but most are in the inner layers of the rice bran. The composition of the oil is 47 percent monounsaturated, 33 percent polyunsaturated and 20 percent saturated. This is similar to the profile of peanut oil.

Unsaturated oils are susceptible to oxidation, and while there is a bran coat surrounding the whole-grain rice, it is not air tight. Also, some of the oil is there in the inner layers of the bran. This is why brown rice has a limited shelf life.

Six months is often used as the shelf life for brown rice, but there are manufacturers that put a “best by” date on their products with an 18-month window from date of manufacture. I recommend buying brown rice in an amount you will use within six months.

Brown rice should be kept in a cool place in a well-sealed container, away from any source of moisture. While refrigeration is not essential, it will extend the shelf life up to a year.

Rice oil, usually called rice bran oil, has many healthful attributes. It has a good fatty-acid composition, but there are also some nonfat components in the rice bran oil that are receiving attention. The phytochemicals of note include tocopherols and tocotrienols (vitamin E and its relatives), and certain triterpene alcohols, most notably a compound named gamma oryzanol.

A study in the January 2005 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition compared the cholesterol-lowering abilities of rice bran oil versus rice bran without the oil. The study used a diet in which a third of the fats were from rice bran oil. The control group used other fats with a similar fatty acid composition. After 10 weeks, the rice bran oil group experienced a 7 percent decrease in LDL cholesterol (the one you want to lower).

A companion study looked to see if adding rice bran without the oil would also have a cholesterol-lowering effect. The study found no impact on cholesterol levels from the bran alone.

From these studies, the scientists concluded that it wasn't the fats themselves or the bran that did the trick, but the oil's unique nonfat phytochemicals. We continue to see this theme throughout nature.

Rice bran oil is also a great cooking and frying oil, as it has a high smoke point – 490 degrees. (The smoke point is the temperature at which an oil begins to break down and give off a bluish-gray, acrid smelling smoke. Food cooked in such oil will have an off taste and be unhealthful to eat.)

Oil is a perishable food. Purchase amounts of rice bran oil you will use in six months, and store the oil in a well-sealed container in a cool place out of direct light. As long as the oil does not sit on the shelf for too long, refrigeration is not essential, but it certainly works in your favor and does not harm the oil in any way.

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