Do you like to eat rice? If you are like at least half of the world’s population who eat rice as a regular staple in the diet, then you probably do (Hu et al., 2014; Qian et al., 2016). If you only like to eat white rice, which has been milled or processed to not only remove the inedible hull, but the rice bran powder, too, then you are missing out on some very important and beneficial nutrients and dietary compounds.
If you decide to switch from white rice to brown rice, you put the rice bran back on your plate. Researchers have studied brown rice and whole grain intake in relation to metabolic markers, cardiovascular risk factors, and body weight (Kazemzadeh et al., 2014; Kim et al., 2011; Sun et al., 2010). Rice does not necessarily have to be brown to be a whole grain, as rice comes in other colors, such as red and black, but if you are only eating white rice, then you are not eating one of Mother Nature’s most wholesome foods - rice bran.
Many people across the world are making the mistake of milling the bran off the kernel and feeding it to animals! While it is great to keep all animals healthy, in reality, humans should be enjoying this nutritional powerhouse, known as rice bran, for themselves.
What is Rice Bran?
You may not have previously thought about the different parts of the rice kernel. You may just enjoy eating your rice! Nonetheless, the rice kernel has a few different main parts. The hull is the indigestible outer shell of the rice kernel that has to be removed, so that we can eat the rice.
Rice bran makes up the outer layers of the edible part of the rice kernel. This small part of the rice kernel is where most of the nutritional benefits are found, as it is packed with hundreds of amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, secondary metabolites, and cofactors, among others (Zarei et al., 2017).
Rice bran is usually a shade of brown, and it is less than 10% of the total weight of the rice kernel. The endosperm is the big white interior of the rice kernel, which is mostly digestible starch, and it is what we call white rice after the rice bran is removed through the milling process. The germ and awn are the other two parts of the rice kernel that are also removed during the milling process.
What the Research on Rice Bran Has Measured
As noted above, rice bran is loaded with amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, making it a nutritional powerhouse. Researchers have examined it across laboratory, animal, and human studies, and I want to describe what those investigators actually measured rather than promise you an outcome. First, scientists have studied dietary rice bran in animal models of carcinogenesis and have reviewed its chemopreventive properties in the published literature (Henderson et al., 2012; Verschoyle et al., 2007). Second, investigators have measured blood glucose, serum lipids, and metabolic parameters in people consuming stabilized rice bran or whole grains (Cheng et al., 2010; de Munter et al., 2007; Qureshi et al., 2002). Third, animal work has examined rice bran unsaponifiables in the context of diet-induced weight gain (Ham et al., 2015). Fourth, a separate body of research has looked at rice bran and lipid metabolism, including its tocotrienols and its protein fraction (Kuriyan et al., 2005; Qureshi et al., 1997; Shibata et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2015). Fifth, researchers have studied rice bran in animal models of Salmonella, rotavirus, and norovirus, measuring gut barrier function, probiotic growth, and innate immune markers (Goodyear et al., 2015; Kumar et al., 2012; Lei et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2015).
I hold this literature to a strict standard, and you should too. Much of the work above was conducted in cell culture or in animals, and the human studies were generally small. None of it shows that a food or a dietary supplement treats, cures, or prevents any disease, and I will not describe it that way. What the research does show is a food of unusual nutritional density that supports normal physiological function across several body systems. To my knowledge, rice bran has not been investigated specifically on brain derived neurotrophic factor, but check out our article on BDNF for how important it is to proper cognition.
Conclusion
Rice bran should be part of your regular diet, unless you have some sort of allergy or sensitivity to any part of rice, which is exceedingly uncommon. You may be wondering if rice bran is gluten free? Even though rice is a grain, rice and rice bran are gluten free, so you do not have to be concerned if you have issues with gluten, such as having celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disorder.
If you do not want to give up white rice, but want to take supplemental brown rice, then make sure that the rice bran powder has been stabilized to prevent it from oxidizing and going rancid. In that case, or even if you do regularly consume brown or other whole-grain rice, Daily Brain Care, which also includes aloe polysaccharides, is your go-to source for getting a high-quality stabilized rice bran to give you regular functional and supportive benefits from this amazing food. You only need a couple of grams per day to support you.
Enjoy rice bran as part of your overall approach to optimal health!
FAQs on Rice Bran
What has research measured about rice bran and cholesterol?
Researchers have studied rice bran oil, rice bran tocotrienols, and rice bran protein in relation to lipid metabolism and serum lipid measures (Kuriyan et al., 2005; Qureshi et al., 1997; Wang et al., 2015). Rice bran also contributes fiber and plant compounds that support normal lipid handling as part of an overall healthy dietary pattern. Anyone managing a diagnosed cholesterol concern should work with a qualified clinician rather than rely on any single food.
Is rice bran different from rice husk?
When rice is grown, it naturally has several different parts. The outer husk or hull is the inedible part that is taken off first in the milling process. The bran is the next layer that typically is also processed off, as most of the world’s population prefers to eat white rice, which is what is left when you eat white rice. If you eat brown rice, then you are also getting the rice bran. So, yes, rice bran is very different from the rice husk or hull.
Is rice bran a superfood?
Depending on your definition of a superfood, I would argue that rice bran qualifies as such. As previously mentioned, rice bran contains hundreds of different nutrients and dietary factors, such as polysaccharides, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, elements, co-factors, and metabolites, making it very nutritionally dense.
References
Cheng, H. H., Huang, H. Y., Chen, Y. Y., Huang, C. L., Chang, C. J., Chen, H. L., & Lai, M. H. (2010). Ameliorative effects of stabilized rice bran on type 2 diabetes patients. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 56(1), 45–51. https://doi.org/10.1159/000265850
de Munter, J. S., Hu, F. B., Spiegelman, D., Franz, M., & van Dam, R. M. (2007). Whole grain, bran, and germ intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort study and systematic review. PLOS Medicine, 4(8), e261. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040261
Goodyear, A., Kumar, A., Ehrhart, E. J., Swanson, K. S., Grusak, M. A., Leach, J. E., Dow, S. W., McClung, A., & Ryan, E. P. (2015). Dietary rice bran supplementation prevents Salmonella colonization differentially across varieties and by priming intestinal immunity. Journal of Functional Foods, 18(Part A), 653–664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2015.08.027
Ham, H., Sung, J., & Lee, J. (2015). Effect of rice bran unsaponifiables on high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice. Journal of Food Biochemistry, 39(6), 673–681. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfbc.12170
Henderson, A. J., Ollila, C. A., Kumar, A., Borresen, E. C., Raina, K., Agarwal, R., & Ryan, E. P. (2012). Chemopreventive properties of dietary rice bran: Current status and future prospects. Advances in Nutrition, 3(5), 643–653. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.112.002303
Hu, C., Shi, J., Quan, S., Cui, B., Kleessen, S., Nikoloski, Z., Tohge, T., Alexander, D., Guo, L., Lin, H., Wang, J., Cui, X., Rao, J., Luo, Q., Zhao, X., Fernie, A. R., & Zhang, D. (2014). Metabolic variation between japonica and indica rice cultivars as revealed by non-targeted metabolomics. Scientific Reports, 4, 5067. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep05067
Kazemzadeh, M., Safavi, S. M., Nematollahi, S., & Nourieh, Z. (2014). Effect of brown rice consumption on inflammatory marker and cardiovascular risk factors among overweight and obese non-menopausal female adults. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 5(4), 478–488. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24829736
Kim, T. H., Kim, E. K., Lee, M. S., Lee, H. K., Hwang, W. S., Choe, S. J., Kim, T. Y., Han, S. J., Kim, H. J., Kim, D. J., & Lee, K. W. (2011). Intake of brown rice lees reduces waist circumference and improves metabolic parameters in type 2 diabetes. Nutrition Research, 31(2), 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2011.01.010
Kumar, A., Henderson, A., Forster, G. M., Goodyear, A. W., Weir, T. L., Leach, J. E., Dow, S. W., & Ryan, E. P. (2012). Dietary rice bran promotes resistance to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium colonization in mice. BMC Microbiology, 12, 71. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-12-71
Kuriyan, R., Gopinath, N., Vaz, M., & Kurpad, A. V. (2005). Use of rice bran oil in patients with hyperlipidaemia. National Medical Journal of India, 18(6), 292–296. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16483027
Lei, S., Ramesh, A., Twitchell, E., Wen, K., Bui, T., Weiss, M., Yang, X., Kocher, J., Li, G., Giri-Rachman, E., Trang, N. V., Jiang, X., Ryan, E. P., & Yuan, L. (2016). High protective efficacy of probiotics and rice bran against human norovirus infection and diarrhea in gnotobiotic pigs. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7, 1699. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01699
Qian, Q., Guo, L., Smith, S. M., & Li, J. (2016). Breeding high-yield superior-quality hybrid super-rice by rational design. National Science Review, 3(3), 283–294. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nww006
Qureshi, A. A., Bradlow, B. A., Salser, W. A., & Brace, L. D. (1997). Novel tocotrienols of rice bran modulate cardiovascular disease risk parameters of hypercholesterolemic humans. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 8(5), 290–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0955-2863(97)89667-2
Qureshi, A. A., Sami, S. A., & Khan, F. A. (2002). Effects of stabilized rice bran, its soluble and fiber fractions on blood glucose levels and serum lipid parameters in humans with diabetes mellitus types I and II. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 13(3), 175–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0955-2863(01)00211-x
Shibata, A., Kawakami, Y., Kimura, T., Miyazawa, T., & Nakagawa, K. (2016). α-Tocopherol attenuates the triglyceride- and cholesterol-lowering effects of rice bran tocotrienol in rats fed a Western diet. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 64(26), 5361–5366. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b02228
Sun, Q., Spiegelman, D., van Dam, R. M., Holmes, M. D., Malik, V. S., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2010). White rice, brown rice, and risk of type 2 diabetes in US men and women. Archives of Internal Medicine, 170(11), 961–969. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2010.109
Verschoyle, R. D., Greaves, P., Cai, H., Edwards, R. E., Steward, W. P., & Gescher, A. J. (2007). Evaluation of the cancer chemopreventive efficacy of rice bran in genetic mouse models of breast, prostate and intestinal carcinogenesis. British Journal of Cancer, 96(2), 248–254. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6603539
Wang, J., Shimada, M., Kato, Y., Kusada, M., & Nagaoka, S. (2015). Cholesterol-lowering effect of rice bran protein containing bile acid-binding proteins. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 79(3), 456–461. https://doi.org/10.1080/09168451.2014.978260
Yang, X., Twitchell, E., Li, G., Wen, K., Weiss, M., Kocher, J., Lei, S., Ramesh, A., Ryan, E. P., & Yuan, L. (2015). High protective efficacy of rice bran against human rotavirus diarrhea via enhancing probiotic growth, gut barrier function, and innate immunity. Scientific Reports, 5, 15004. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15004
Zarei, I., Brown, D. G., Nealon, N. J., & Ryan, E. P. (2017). Rice bran metabolome contains amino acids, vitamins & cofactors, and phytochemicals with medicinal and nutritional properties. Rice, 10(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-017-0157-2
