Adjust Our Diet 2: From White Rice to Brown Rice

The first thing we did in 1996 was to change our rice. Instead of taking white rice for lunch and dinner, we opted for brown rice.

Rice is the staple food for most Asians. The polished white fragrant rice is favoured by many households. It is now known that brown rice contains much vitamins, minerals and fibre while the ordinary white rice lacks these. The health benefits of brown rice are tremendous. In general, polished rice has lost 26–83% of the minerals present in brown rice (Erasmus 1993). See Erasmus, U. (1993). Fats that Heal Fats that Kills. Burnaby BC: Alive Books.


Nutritional benefits of rice. See Lim, J. K. (2004). “Fuel, rice, oil and salt”, Nanyang Siang Pau, 9 December 2004. (In Chinese)
White rice: lesser fibre, remains longer in intestines, facilitates bad bacteria growth, slows down liver function, produces toxin, chances of colon cancer
Brown rice: More fibre, easily digested, reduces cholesterol, increases good bacteria growth, improves immune system, promotes slimming, prevents stomach cancer, controls diabetes

Brown rice is rich in starch, minerals and vitamins. Its protein can reduce the cholesterol in blood and help prevent cardiovascular diseases while its Vitamin B1, B2 and E slow-down ageing. Brown rice creates a good environment for the growth of beneficial bacteria, helps indigestion and improves the body’s immune system. Taking brown rice also helps in slimming, controlling diabetes and preventing stomach cancer. Taking brown rice is good for our liver because it collects toxins from our gut and flushes them out.

Brown rice contains much more fibre than white rice. Fibre helps to reduce its chances storage in the stomach, and hence taking brown rice can prevent constipation. Moreover, the storage time of white rice in the stomach is about three times longer than brown rice. This encourages the growth of harmful bacteria, which affects proper functioning of the bile, produces toxin, leads to constipation and enhance the chances of colon cancer.

Switching from white rice to brown rice was radical for my family. We made a 100% change in the rice as the intention was to save the life of my father-in-law. We had little choice. Even though brown rice was hard in nature and tasted differently, we just ate it. We only learned later that if the brown rice were soaked in water for a few hours before cooking, it would be softer and easier to eat.

Brown rice is part of our diet. It is now served in major Chinese vegetarian restaurants. Such rice is available in both organic shops and the hyper markets.

Normally, we encourage friends to switch to brown rice gradually. Buy a kilogram of brown rice today. The gradual change may start with adding a spoon of brown rice and reducing a spoon of white rice in normal cooking. Your family members may not even notice this small change which is also acceptable to their tongues. The next week, replace 2 spoons of white rice with brown rice. Continue the gradual change. Buy 3 to 6 months, you tongue will get used to the taste of 100% brown rice.