Is brown rice or white rice better for health?

White rice and brown rice come from the same grain, but white rice goes through more steps to The Lazy Chef Cooking refine it during processing. Each type can provide different benefits for a person’s health.

Rice is an important part of the diet for many people around the world. With many varieties to choose from and a wide range of possible uses, rice can be a tasty, nutritious, and versatile ingredient.

Nutrition
Brown rice contains more protein, fiber, and carbohydrates than white rice.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture National, a cup of medium grain, cooked, enriched white rice weighing 186 gramsTrusted Source (g) provides:

242 kilocalories (kcal)
4.43 g of protein
0.39 g of fat
53.2 g of carbohydrate
0.56 g of fiber
Rice also contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals, including folate. Enriched rice contains more nutrients than unenriched rice.

A cup of cooked, long grain brown rice weighing 202 gTrusted Source provides:

248 kcal
5.54 g of protein
1.96 g of fat
51.7 g of carbohydrate
3.23 g of fiber
It also contains folate, iron, and other vitamins and minerals.

Which rice is better?
In some cases, one type of rice may be preferable to another. The following sections discuss whether white rice or brown rice is better for certain people with certain conditions or goals.

Kidney disease
Brown rice contains more phosphorus and potassium than white rice. People with kidney disease may need to limit these nutrients in their diet.

This is because kidney disease makes the kidneys less able to properly regulate the levels of these nutrients in the body. If potassium levels become too high, for example, it can lead to other health concerns such as heart attack.

In this case, white rice may be better than brown rice.

A low fiber diet
Sometimes, a doctor recommends a low fiber diet.

People may need to adopt this type of diet if they:

have diverticulitis
have diarrhea
have inflammatory bowel disease
have a blockage due to colorectal cancer
have had surgery involving the gastrointestinal tract
White rice contains less fiber than brown rice, so it may be a better choice for these people.