Rice germ refers to the seeds of rice, and it refers to the mixed pulverized product that is produced in the process of milling brown rice into white rice. Rice germ, also called embryo, accounts for about 66% of the total nutritional content of brown rice. It is known to have a variety of beneficial effects on the body as it is rich in essential amino acids that help the body’s metabolism, gamma oryzanol, various vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. It can be said that the reason why rice germ is referred to as the core and aggregate of rice nutrition is due to the content of these excellent nutrients. Now, let’s take a look at the main effects of rice bran and various related information one by one.
Main effect of rice germ
1. Vascular health
Rice germ has a high content of GABA, an amino acid that performs important functions in the central nervous system, brain, and spinal cord. This GABA component is said to help control blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In addition, it is said to have a beneficial effect on preventing atherosclerosis, which is a cause of various arterial-related diseases, where fat is attached to the blood vessels, narrowing the arteries and causing the blood vessels to lose elasticity. Rice bran is also rich in octacosanol, a substance known as an insoluble solid waxy substance. This octacosanol component penetrates into the lining of blood vessels and lowers the level of bad cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, which causes an increase in inflammation levels, and increases the level of HDL cholesterol, also known as good cholesterol, improves the smooth flow of blood and the risk of vascular-related diseases It is said to help a lot in lowering it.
2. Improving immunity
Rice germ contains a high content of a substance that exerts powerful antioxidant power called gamma oryzanol, which is 70 times higher than normal white rice and 4 times higher than brown rice. In addition to gamma oryzanol, rice germ is also rich in vitamin E, which has a reputation as a powerful antioxidant. Due to the complex action of these abundant antioxidants, it plays an excellent role in protecting the body from free radicals, the main culprit that disturbs the immune system, and it is said to help improve the body’s overall immunity.
In addition, these excessively generated free radicals are well known as risk factors that increase the risk of cancer, and they are said to have a beneficial effect in preventing cancer by removing free radicals by the action of abundant antioxidants.
3. Anti-aging
The reactive oxygen species mentioned above attack genes in cells by strong reactivity and act as the main cause of inhibiting cell regeneration. This action acts as a risk factor that induces and accelerates aging. Antioxidants such as gamma oryzanol and vitamin E, which are abundant in rice germ, neutralize these free radicals and have a beneficial effect in slowing down the aging process. In addition, it helps to prevent skin aging, which can be said to be the part where this aging phenomenon is directly exposed, and it is said to have the effect of enhancing the elasticity of the skin through wrinkle improvement.
4. Diabetes Prevention
It is known that the GABA component abundantly contained in rice germ promotes the secretion of adiponectin, a hormone secreted by adipose tissue and regulating sugar metabolism. This smooth secretion of adiponectin improves insulin resistance and helps prevent diabetes. In addition, gamma oryzanol, which is abundant in rice germ, has the effect of decomposing fat, and this action is said to have a good effect on the metabolism of diabetes. In addition, rice germ has a high content of vitamin B1 called thiamine. This vitamin B1 component promotes the metabolism of carbohydrates and aids in energy absorption.
5. Fatigue recovery
Rice germ is known to help restore energy and adequately relieve fatigue due to its excellent metabolic activity due to its high content of vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 components of the vitamin B group that are involved in body energy metabolism. In addition, octacosanol, which is abundant in rice germ, is known to be an excellent ingredient for improving endurance, and it is said that it can help to recover from fatigue by this mechanism of action.
6. Reduce body fat
Gamma oryzanol, which is contained in abundance, breaks down the fat accumulated in the body and helps to discharge it out of the body, which is said to be beneficial in reducing body fat and controlling body weight. In addition, the abundant GABA component activates the secretion of adiponectin, a body fat improvement hormone that converts body fat into energy, thereby inhibiting the accumulation of body fat and preventing the symptoms of metabolic syndrome caused by excessive accumulation of visceral fat.
7. Nerve stability
The GABA component, which is abundant in rice buds, acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, so it is said to have a beneficial effect in calming the nervous and anxious mind and calming the excited mind. GABA’s excellent sedative health benefits have been shown to be beneficial in improving sleep disorders and insomnia symptoms by minimizing factors that interfere with sleep.
8. Improvement of long-term function
It is known that the dietary fiber abundantly contained in rice bran has an excellent effect on the intestinal tract, which improves the intestinal environment by helping the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestine. In addition, it is reported that this abundant dietary fiber has good results in promoting intestinal peristalsis, and it is reported that it has a beneficial effect in improving the symptoms of constipation as well as removing sukbyeon that is attached to the intestinal wall and cannot be discharged.
Rice Bud Side Effects and How to Take It
Although the rich dietary fiber of rice bran has excellent effects on improving intestinal function and intestinal function, it is advisable to keep this in mind and consume it properly as it can cause problems such as diarrhea and abdominal pain when consumed in excess. do. In addition, since rice bran is harder than regular white rice, it is said that it is a good way to chew it well as it can cause problems such as stomach pain if consumed by people with weak digestion.
It is said that it is good to eat rice bran by adding it to rice or by adding it to rice flour, yogurt, or milk. When adding rice germ to rice, it is said that it is enough to take two spoonfuls of well-cooked rice and add a spoonful (3g) of rice bran to mix and eat. Also, note that it is a good way to drink in the form of tea by adding a spoonful of rice bran to about 200ml of warm water.
