Black rice has always been a very discreet food. It is not well known in a lot of places since it is produce in very small quantities. But the history of the black rice is as rich as it is nutritious.
The rice is also known as "forbidden rice" or "emperor's rice" for the reason that in China it was only served to the royalty.
The color of the rice is due to an excess of anthocyanin, a very powerful antioxidant in plants. Anthocyanin is also the reason behind the color of eggplants, grapes, blue berries, acai berries along with darker colored plants.
Black rice is very tricky to grow and one can only yield as low as 10 percent compared to other rice varieties. Due to the high anthocyanin, which means that it has a lot of antioxidant, black rice was revered in China.
A recent study traced where the black rice originated from and the results came in with pointing out to Japan. The study also says that black rice is naturally occurring but because of a mutation in the rice gene.
Black rice is also very famous for its health benefits. Due to the anthocyanin, a large amount of antioxidant is created by the rice and antioxidants are helpful when it comes to cleansing the body from wastes.
It is also heart attack preventive. The anthocyanin in the rice prevents plaques from forming in the arteries of the hearts. A clogged artery is one of the most common causes of heart attack.
Black rice is also being studied for preventing more serious illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Cancer and diabetes.
Studies show the nutritional number of Black rice, which is higher than most of the other rice varieties. Black rice has 8.5 protein, zero zinc, 3.5 iron and 4.9 fiber. Compared to polished white rice, the most popular rice has only 6.8 protein, 1.2 iron, 0.5 zinc and 0.6 fiber.
