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| A bowl of cooked forbidden rice / CC BY-SA 3.0 ElinorD |
Are you looking for something new and healthy to add to your diet? Try adding some forbidden rice to your next meal. Forbidden rice also known as black rice or purple rice is a different rice variety and one of the healthiest foods you can eat, and it tastes good. You can have it as a side dish or use it as part of the main meal. No matter what your dietary preference, this special rice can perk up any meal.
We’ve been told to make our plates colorful and the more colors on your plate, the healthier it is. The different colors of our foods represent different types of antioxidants, flavonoids, and phytonutrients present in food. And these various phytonutrients are very healthy and boost our immune system to protect us from disease and sickness.
Even if you already eat a healthy diet or a well-rounded plant-based diet, you might not have heard of forbidden rice or black rice. You can find it packaged or in bulk at most grocery stores, and it is worthy of a place in your pantry.
The History of Forbidden Rice
Forbidden rice is also known as black rice or Emperor’s rice. It is called forbidden rice because it was once forbidden to everyone in ancient China except the Chinese Emperor to ensure their health and longevity. According to Chinese medicine, it is considered a tonic for the blood, kidneys, liver, and stomach.
Cultivated rice dates back 10,000 years from a single crop in China, which is the ancestor of rice today. But forbidden rice is unique because of its purple black color. The purple color is a result of its incredibly high amount of anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant.
Japanese scientists discovered that the reason for these high amounts of anthocyanin is there was a change in the gene that controls the antioxidant in forbidden rice. [1]
Anthocyanin is the same antioxidant that gives other foods their blue and purple colors like blueberries, acai berries, and concord grapes.
Cultivated rice dates back 10,000 years from a single crop in China, which is the ancestor of rice today. But forbidden rice is unique because of its purple black color. The purple color is a result of its incredibly high amount of anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant.
Japanese scientists discovered that the reason for these high amounts of anthocyanin is there was a change in the gene that controls the antioxidant in forbidden rice. [1]
Anthocyanin is the same antioxidant that gives other foods their blue and purple colors like blueberries, acai berries, and concord grapes.
Forbidden Rice Nutrients
Both and are much more nutritious than . is considered a . has had most of the and nutrients taken out.
Enriched has some of the vitamins and minerals added back in, but enriched is still not as nutritious as or back is.
Both and are considered whole . The main difference between and is the much higher content in . [2]
A ½ cup (100 grams) of uncooked forbidden rice has the following nutrients:- Calories: 368
- Fat: 3.79 grams, including 18 , both essential and non-essential
- Protein: 9.5 g
- Dietary Fiber: 4.6 g
- Vitamin E: 9 IU (20% daily value)
- Calcium: 29 mg
- Iron: 1.94 mg
- Manganese: 2.8 mg (80% daily value)
- Magnesium: 167 mg (25% daily value)
Another of is that is also includes several . One cup of cooked has 17% of the daily value (DV) of thiamin (B1), 17% DV for pyridoxine (B6), 16% DV for niacin (B3), and 2% DV for riboflavin (B2) and folate (B9).
The Wonderful Health Benefits of Forbidden Rice
The deep purple color shows you that forbidden rice is high in anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Anthocyanins are found in colorful plant foods like black rice (forbidden rice), red rice, berries, kidney beans, black beans, eggplant, red cabbage, and many other fruits and vegetables. Forbidden rice is among the foods with the highest amount of anthocyanins. [3, 4]
As a comparison, here are some foods and their average anthocyanin content in mg per 100 grams:
- Elderberry: 1,375 mg
- Blueberries: 365 mg
- Red cabbage: 322 mg
- Forbidden rice or black rice: 295 mg
- Red radish: 100 mg
- Eggplant: 86 mg
Anthocyanin is a powerful antioxidant that removes free radicals from our body. Other health benefits of anthocyanins include:
- Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
- Anti-cancer by suppressing cancer cell growth and inhibit tumor formation
- Lowers blood pressure
- Improves visual health and acuity
- Prevents type 2 diabetes
- Anti-viral activity
- Anti-bacterial activity
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Lowers oxidative stress
In addition to the wonderful health benefits listed above, forbidden rice has even more health benefits.
Forbidden rice is gluten free, which means that anyone can enjoy this flavorful rice even if you have gluten intolerance.
Forbidden rice is a good source of healthy fiber, which is necessary for a healthy digestive system and good gut bacteria. Eating a diet high in dietary fibre can also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, diverticular disease, hemorrhoids, and relieve constipation.
Adding Forbidden Rice to Your Diet
The color of forbidden rice is black before cooking and a deep purple color after cooking. I find forbidden rice has a richer flavor than brown rice with a slightly nutty taste.
Whether you eat a whole food plant-based diet or an omnivore diet, forbidden rice is an excellent way to broaden your choice of healthy foods and makes a great addition to almost any meal. Here are some tasty black rice recipe ideas:
- Black Rice Vegan Burgers
- Superfood Black Rice Bowl
- Vegan Champagne and Mushroom Risotto With Black Rice
- Forbidden Rice Breakfast Pudding
- Jeweled Black Rice Salad
Forbidden Rice Conclusion
Forbidden rice is a great way to add more healthy antioxidants, fiber, and color to your diet. It can be used as a side dish or made as the main dish, and as a desert. is a good for , reducing the risk of disease, and because of the , it can also help with .
© 2022 Sam Montana/Healthy Food and Life
About The Author
Sam Montana is a certified Food Over Medicine instructor from the Wellness Health Forum Center and certified in optimal nutrition from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
[1] Spruce Eats
[3] PubMed - Ghasemzadeh A, Karbalaii MT, Jaafar HZE, Rahmat A. Phytochemical
constituents, antioxidant activity, and antiproliferative properties of
black, red, and brown rice bran. Chem Cent J. 2018;12(1):17. Published 2018 Feb 17. doi:10.1186/s13065-018-0382-9
