Brown Rice Tied to Better Heart Health in Study Conversion to white rice strips vital ingredient, researchers believe (HealthDay News) -- Two kinds of rice -- brown and half-milled rice -- may reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood
pressure by interfering with a protein linked to those conditions, research suggests.
In a new study, researchers
report that the findings could indicate that brown rice is better than white rice when it comes to protecting the body from
high blood pressure and artherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
"Our research suggests that there is a potential
ingredient in rice that may be a good starting point for looking into preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases," said
researcher Satoru Eguchi, an associate professor of physiology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
Eguchi
and colleagues said their experiments show that an ingredient in brown rice appears to combat a protein known as angiotensin
II that contributes to high blood pressure and clogged arteries.
The ingredient is in a layer of rice that is stripped
away when brown rice is converted to white rice. But the layer can be preserved in half-milled (Haigamai) and incompletely
milled (Kinmemai) rice, which are popular in Japan.
The study is slated to be released at the Experimental Biology
annual conference, April 24-28, in Anaheim, Calif.
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine
has details on nutrition. -- Randy Dotinga SOURCE: Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology, news release, April 26, 2010
(HealthDay News) -- Two kinds of rice -- brown and half-milled rice -- may reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood
pressure by interfering with a protein linked to those conditions, research suggests.