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For years we’ve been told to eat brown rice rather than white. Brown rice (particularly brown basmati rice) is a low-GI food that’s full of fibre and packed with B vitamins. But now health experts are praising black rice, long coveted in China where, according to legend, it was once considered so rare, delicious and nutritious that only emperors could eat it. If you’ve never heard of black rice, read on.

What makes it so good?

Black rice, like brown rice, is very rich in fibre, but it also contains antioxidants that have been linked to better memory and a decreased risk of cancer and heart disease. The antioxidants found in black rice are known as anthocyanins, and they’re also found in grapes, acai berries and blueberries. Just one spoonful of bran from black rice, or ten spoonfuls of the rice itself, contains as much anthocyanin as a spoonful of blueberries, once thought to be the richest source of the antioxidant.

Better than blueberries

As reported by Health Magazine, Zhimin Xu, a professor at Louisiana State University Agricultural Centre in the US, says ‘black-rice bran has an advantage over blueberries, because blueberries still contain a high level of sugar’.

Black rice also packs a double punch when it comes to antioxidants because some of the antixoidants found in it are fat-soluble, meaning the body can store them, while others are water soluble, meaning they can reach various parts of the body.

What to do with it

Until black rice gains more popularity, it may be difficult to find in shops. If you can’t get hold of it, ask your local health shop to get some in. Then you can simply cook it in a rice steamer and serve it as you would any other rice.