Several of the zillions of types of rice grown in SE Asia are superior to brown rice in both flavor and nutrition - specifically, black and red rice varieties (I don’t believe I ever saw brown rice for sale in local markets during my years in the region, unless it was imported for Westerners to buy). Those are the healthier options that nutrition-conscious people in that part of the world advocate for.
The situation is somewhat similar to the white-versus-whole wheat preference in the West: it’s hard to convince people to replace their standard white rice with red. Black has a bit more traction, at least in Indonesia, as there are particular dishes that call for it.
I’m a big fan of both black and red rice - I’ll never eat brown rice again. It’s tasteless by comparison.
I’ve had black (purple) rice at a few restaurants and just thought to investigate the question.
Anthocyanins are an anti-oxidant and are what create the purple/black pigment. In theory, that should make them better than brown rice. In practice, the bioavailability of anthocyanins appears to be miniscule so the color difference might not make much of a difference.
Personally, I’d say that it’s more important to be able to buy a large bag, on the cheap, than to get a particular color. If you find black, it might be mildly better. But the biggest difference would probably be with white rice.
Quoting this as being a big part of the movement towards, and problems with healthier/wider variety of micronutrient foods in general.
The problem isn’t just which food has more nutrition (I’m avoiding the whole bad/evil argument for the moment), it’s what sort of food you can afford that at least meets the MACROnutrient needs for far, far too many people worldwide.
If, speaking for the local American Megamart, I can buy a cheeeeap store brand loaf of white bread for $0.99 to 1.99, a more expensive 100% whole wheat for 2.99 to 3.99, and a loaf of Dave’s or the like for 5.99+ (prices vary depending on sales, a budget conscious person may find themselves buying the first.
I mean if you’re risking going hungry, being able to get 3x or more macronutrients for the same money is really a huge deal.
Most of us (not all by any means) on the boards have the financial wherewithal to make our choices primarily based on taste, personal preference, and added nutritional value. It’s a luxury I for one enjoy, but don’t pretend isn’t just that, a luxury.
But if you live in a food desert, or are doing your main grocery shopping in value/$1 stores, then all of a sudden, it’s the macros that are talking, and MOST of the value stores are going to leave you high and dry for a wider variety and healthier options.
Perhaps not if you have the time, energy and skill to cook (rice and beans ftw!) but especially if you’re struggling to make ends meet, generally the first two are at a premium.
In SE Asia you’re going to have a lot more luck finding red or black rice than brown. And while it may very well be that the nutritional differences between black and brown rice aren’t earth-shattering, the taste of black is so much better. (There are several varieties of black rice, too; some may have better bioavailability than others.)
Actually I have always read that red rice wins over any other color of rice nutrition-wise - one cite does not prove much, but I just found this:
Like black rice, red rice gets its color from anthocyanins. Research suggests that among the different types of rice, red rice has the highest level of the antioxidant—10 times more than brown rice—and may thus aid in the prevention or management of such illnesses as heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
The bottom line? Black and red rice seem to contain more antioxidants than brown rice, but all three varieties are nutritionally better than white rice. If you’re not a fan of the flavor and texture of brown, black, and red rice, then you can ease yourself into it. Mix a bit of your chosen variety into white rice, then gradually increase the amount of the other variety as the days go by until you’ve eliminated white rice.
I will say that standard store white bread doesn’t fill me up remotely near as well as a good whole grain bread; so if I eat the same amount of white that I would have of good whole grain, I’m still going to be hungry.
That said: most “whole grain” bread in the grocery isn’t much better, because, like the white bread, it’s pumped full of air.
I’m broke – and I make my own in the winter, fill up the freezers as the produce comes out, and eat mostly that all year. I can’t make my own as cheaply as the cheapest store white, at least with anything for cost of running oven even though there’s usually multiple things in it as well as multiple loaves to a batch; but I can beat that Dave’s price by quite a bit. However, a lot of people with no money have little or no freezer space, and some of them have no ovens, and a lot of them have no time (I only have time in the wintertime, myself, but some of my work is seasonal.) And people shopping in the kind of place you’re talking about probably can’t get decent quality flour either; and as you say some can’t get anywhere else.
I don’t see black or red rice around here; though I suspect I could find it if I went to Ithaca, they’ve got at least one specialty Asian grocery. Come to think of it, maybe Greenstar’s got it; I get a discount there.
One other big point to keep an eye out for: “Wheat bread”, officially, just means “bread made from wheat flour”, i.e., plain ordinary bread. What’s sold in stores as “wheat bread” is usually exactly the same as what’s called “white bread”, just with a little added color. What’s different, and what you might be looking for if you want more fiber, is “whole wheat bread”, which means that it’s made from the entire wheat kernel (including bran), not just the white core.
If you really want to be sure, then check the nutrition label for fiber content. Most white breads will be less than one gram per serving, while some whole-grain varieties can be as high as five.
The cheapest strategy is generally to buy in bulk and cook in bulk.
This five pound bag of White Lily Flour, for example, is $0.17 per ounce:
And this 25 pound bag of organic Spelt is only $0.16 per ounce:
Now granted, Gold Medal kicks either of those out of the park but, in bulk, the big daddy becomes competitive with what you’re going to find in your local store.
If you can figure out where your largest negatives are (e.g. eating a lot of white bread, cooking with butter, etc.) then you can get to someplace like a Costco and make a few large purchases (whole wheat flour, olive oil, etc.) that helps you to patch in those holes without blowing your budget.
Whether that’s worth it to you… That’s up to you.
You can also start a garden and start growing and milling your own wheat. That might be the cheapest, overall, if you don’t count your personal time as costing anything. I’m not saying that you should do these things, just that you can.
Oh, agreed. That’s why I specified the 100% whole wheat flour, and the big price jump. Because exactly as you mention, there’s often “wheat” bread for sale at or near the price of the cheap white bread… but it’s fundamentally white bread with brown color added!
And don’t undercut the part I mentioned about not only time and energy, but also the skill to do so. Your skills are to be saluted and envied. My wife is a good baker, and we certainly make good challah for far less than I can buy in store (but it’s also normally not heavy in micronutrients) but it’s not like we’re making it as our literal daily bread!
I know there are arguments back and forth, but in terms of managing micronutrients, I am personally a proponent of GMO (it’s not a scare word despite far too aggressive advertising) options, albeit with STRONG concerns on viability, replication, and avoidance of mono-crops, not to mention a decided side-eye at patenting and single party ownership of such. But, well, that is already as bad as it is considering the whole Roundup resistant wheat crops that are commonly grown in the US…
Anyway, golden rice and other similar developments now and in the future may be a good option, but my concerns above will never go away. Would it be better to improve the standard of living, nutrition education, and food availability to all? Yes, even hell yes, but humans seem too selfish as a mass to do so.
Meanwhile, I suspect most of us will continue to buy a combination of the foods we can afford best, taste best (to individual tastes) and manage to acquire and cook based on availability and skill.
For me, it’s that middle ground, using bread as an example, of buying the cheaper but still 100% ground wheat as a sandwich bread, or other fortified option. Dave’s is too pricey especially for my limited use, and that’s even keeping the loaf in the fridge to limit spoilage!
When I say “brown rice” what I mean is whole-grain rice. It’s the amount of processing that makes it “brown rice”, not the variety. For example, there’s multiple varieties of rice widely available in L.A., which can be bought in bulk as either “white” or “brown”, depending on the processing.
That doesn’t seem to match how you use your terms.
I don’t know what varieties of rice are typically sold as “whole grain” - though I’d imagine some sorts of common long grain rice that would be white if processed are standard. I can guess, though I don’t know, that the variety of rice sold as “red rice” is whole grain. That would be consistent with the texture of any red rice I’ve eaten.
Black rice, I have no idea. It’s usually a “sticky rice” though I’ve had varieties that are less glutinous. However, there is a thriving market in fake black rice in Indonesia, so I wouldn’t draw conclusions based on all the black rice I’ve cooked with.