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Brown Rice May Help Lower Blood Pressure
Brown Rice May Help Lower Blood Pressure
May 5, 2010 Source: Examiner.com
Americans know brown rice is good for heart health, but a new study suggests it may
be even healthier than originally thought. Researchers at Temple University have
found a compound in brown rice may lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of
plaque build-up in the arteries, which in turn decreases the possibility of a heart
attack.
Brown rice vs. white rice
White rice is milled to remove the husk, bran and germ from the grain. While this
helps reduce spoilage, it also removes many of the healthy nutrients and
compounds found in rice.
Brown rice has the hard husk removed, but the other layers remain intact. It is one
of these layers that became the focus for the Temple University study.
Cardiovascular benefits of brown rice
Researchers discovered the subaleurone layer in brown rice (between the white and
brown layers) contains a substance important to cardiovascular health. This
substance counteracts a protein that causes blood vessels to constrict, which
pushes up blood pressure and makes it easier for plaque and clots to form. High
blood pressure and plaque build-up are key factors in heart disease and heart
attack.
The subaleurone layer is removed in white rice when the grains are polished after
milling. This may partially explain why countries such as Japan, where incompletely
milled rice is consumed on a daily basis, have lower rates of cardiovascular disease
and heart attack deaths as compared to the US where white rice is more popular.
“Our research suggests that there is an ingredient in rice (the ethyl acetate extract
from the subaleurone layer) that may be a good starting point for looking into
preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Eguchi, lead researcher,
in a May 5, 2010, Temple University press release. “We hope to present this as an
additional health benefit of consuming half-milled or brown rice [as opposed to white
rice] as part of a regular diet.”
May 5, 2010 Source: Examiner.com
Americans know brown rice is good for heart health, but a new study suggests it may
be even healthier than originally thought. Researchers at Temple University have
found a compound in brown rice may lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of
plaque build-up in the arteries, which in turn decreases the possibility of a heart
attack.
Brown rice vs. white rice
White rice is milled to remove the husk, bran and germ from the grain. While this
helps reduce spoilage, it also removes many of the healthy nutrients and
compounds found in rice.
Brown rice has the hard husk removed, but the other layers remain intact. It is one
of these layers that became the focus for the Temple University study.
Cardiovascular benefits of brown rice
Researchers discovered the subaleurone layer in brown rice (between the white and
brown layers) contains a substance important to cardiovascular health. This
substance counteracts a protein that causes blood vessels to constrict, which
pushes up blood pressure and makes it easier for plaque and clots to form. High
blood pressure and plaque build-up are key factors in heart disease and heart
attack.
The subaleurone layer is removed in white rice when the grains are polished after
milling. This may partially explain why countries such as Japan, where incompletely
milled rice is consumed on a daily basis, have lower rates of cardiovascular disease
and heart attack deaths as compared to the US where white rice is more popular.
“Our research suggests that there is an ingredient in rice (the ethyl acetate extract
from the subaleurone layer) that may be a good starting point for looking into
preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Eguchi, lead researcher,
in a May 5, 2010, Temple University press release. “We hope to present this as an
additional health benefit of consuming half-milled or brown rice [as opposed to white
rice] as part of a regular diet.”