Rice is one of the essential staples of daily life, providing the body with most of its calories and nutrients, and is therefore known as the king of the five grains. Normal rice is white, fragrant, and translucent when cooked, emitting a tempting aroma. However, there is a type of rice that, if consumed regularly, could potentially cause cancer.
Eating yellowed rice may induce cancer
Under two circumstances, rice turns yellow. One is due to high moisture content in the rice itself, making it easily contaminated by molds such as *Penicillium islandicum*, *Penicillium citrinum*, and *Penicillium citreoviride* during storage. Subsequently, under suitable conditions, these molds multiply in large numbers and produce toxic metabolites, causing the rice to turn yellow. This type of rice is also known as yellowed rice.
Yellowed rice contains multiple toxins that can cause liver damage, and some can also lead to kidney and nerve damage, with strong carcinogenic effects. Additionally, if paddy rice is not dried in time after harvest due to rainy weather and is stored in a pile, it can also turn yellow. The milled rice from this discolored paddy is also yellow and is called yellow-kernelled rice. Yellow-kernelled rice is generally non-toxic, but its nutritional value and quality are inferior to white rice, and it is also susceptible to mold contamination under suitable conditions.
Choosing the right rice for health is key
Although white rice is the most common type we eat, high-quality white rice is also beneficial to our bodies. However, if you are looking to improve your health, you can choose other types of rice. Here are a few healthy rice varieties to introduce:
Black rice is best for nourishing the kidneys
Black rice is rich in nutrition, containing protein, fat, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and other substances. Its nutritional value is higher than that of ordinary rice. It can significantly increase the levels of hemoglobin and hemoglobin in the human body, is beneficial for the cardiovascular system, promotes bone and brain development in children, and can aid in the recovery of postpartum and post-illness individuals. Therefore, it is an ideal nutritional and health food.
Japonica rice is most nourishing
The common rice used daily for making rice is also called japonica rice or polished rice. It is semi-transparent, oval, or elliptical, with a high milling rate, small grain expansion, but high stickiness. As a daily staple, japonica rice contains essential nutrients for the human body such as starch, protein, fat, vitamin B1, niacin, vitamin C, and calcium and iron, providing the necessary nutrition and calories.
Using japonica rice to make porridge for health and longevity has a history of 2000 years in China. The layer of congee oil on top of japonica porridge can replenish fluids and essence, greatly benefiting the nourishment of the body's yin fluids and kidney essence, making it most suitable for patients, postpartum women, and the elderly. Japonica rice has the effects of strengthening the spleen and stomach, replenishing middle qi, nourishing yin and promoting body fluids, relieving vexation and thirst, and solidifying the intestines to stop diarrhea. It can be used for conditions such as weak spleen and stomach, vexation and thirst, malnutrition, and post-illness weakness. However, diabetic patients should be cautious not to consume too much.
Brown rice is best for aiding digestion
So-called brown rice is "light yellow rice" that has had its coarse bran hull removed during the milling process while retaining the germ and inner bran. The protein, fat, and vitamin content in brown rice are higher than in polished white rice. The coarse fiber molecules in the bran layer help with gastrointestinal peristalsis and are effective for digestive tract diseases such as stomach problems, constipation, and hemorrhoids. Brown rice is more nutritious than polished white rice and can lower cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Brown rice is suitable for the general population, but due to its coarse texture and dense nature, it takes longer to cook. It is recommended to wash it, soak it in cold water overnight before cooking, and then cook it in a pressure cooker for more than half an hour along with the soaking water.
Coxi seed rice is best for beauty
Coxi seed rice, also known as Job's tears or coix seed. The nutritional value of coxi seed rice is very high, earning it the title "King of World Gramineae Plants." Job's tears are rich in nutrients, containing coixenol, coixenolide, sterols, various amino acid components including arginine, and nutritional components such as vitamin B1 and carbohydrates. It has the effects of promoting urination to drain dampness, strengthening the spleen to stop diarrhea, and clearing heat and detoxifying.
Millet is best for nourishing the stomach
Millet is also known as broomcorn millet, panicum millet, or millet. It is rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamin B2, niacin, and nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Because millet is very easily digested and absorbed by the human body, it is called "health rice" by nutrition experts.
Millet has the effects of strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the middle, benefiting kidney qi, clearing deficiency heat, promoting urination, and treating vexation and thirst. It is a good nutritional remedy for treating weakness of the spleen and stomach, general debility, damage to essence and blood, postpartum deficiency, and poor appetite. Guo Wanli pointed out that because millet is slightly cool in nature, those with qi stagnation or a constitution that is slightly deficient and cold, or with clear and long urination, should not consume it in excess.