Rice bran oil is enriched with nutrients. Popularly known as ‘heart oil’, rice bran oil benefits are observed in every kitchen food dish in the western world today. Rice bran oil (RBO) is the natural source of antioxidants that our body needs. This healthy oil, right from its outer endosperm layer of rice to our kitchen shelf, makes it a hit among the healthiest edible oil out there you can choose for cooking. It iss easy availability and plenty of health benefits, you’ll find every household enjoying rice bran oil benefits in their food. The oil contains an equal balance of polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats that clearly benefit the heart. With its mild taste, rice bran oil is widely used in Asian Cuisine. The Asians have been relying on the benefits of rice bran oil for more than 2000 years. It’s now a staple for a large population around the globe. The oil extract from rice bran has countless uses. Discover the life-changing benefits of rice bran oil and how exactly you can add it to your diet to maintain heart and body health.
Types of Rice Bran Oil
Refined Oil
Refined rice bran oil is purified by removing suspended particles, colour, odour, flavour, and any toxic substance. This purification is done using chemicals. After purification, clear and pure oil is left behind which is then used for various purposes. Excessive filtration is involved in the manufacturing process of rice bran oil. This filtration also strips off the oil’s vitamin E, minerals and beta carotene, eventually making it less nutritious. Without these, the shelf life of refined oil is also less. Hence, manufacturers add synthetic products to increase shelf life. Dieticians recommend avoiding these refined types because they can be harmful enough to cause cancer due to all the chemicals used to filter them.
Filtered Oil
This process involved filtering out the suspended particles. The traditional cold pressing method is the technique used to extract this oil with no processing except filtering and bottling it. This retains the flavour of the rice bran seeds. This filtered oil retains the flavour to such an extent that it may overpower the natural flavour of the food dish you cook it with.
Rice bran oil contains vitamins, minerals, and essential oils. Oryzanol in rice bran oil makes it a healthy cooking ingredient and it's suitable for use in skincare formulations as well. Other rice bran oil benefits include hair and skin protection, moisturisation, and an abundance of vitamin E. Let’s dig deeper into the health benefits of rice bran oil.
#1 Contains Beneficial Nutrients
Rice bran oil has a high smoking point which means it is suitable for cooking at high temperatures. It won’t lose its nutrition even in excessive heat or high temperatures. Also, RBO doesn’t stick to food. Interestingly, the absorption of rice bran oil is lesser than other cooking oils. Its neutral taste and mild flavour make it extremely versatile and light. Consumption of rice bran oil increases mitochondrial respiration. This regulates energy metabolism in the body. The dietary components of rice bran oil control inflammation. You can even use rice bran oil while practising the oil pulling technique for oral health. This technique requires swishing and pulling the rice bran oil through teeth, and it considerably reduces bad breath or halitosis.
#2 Promotes Health Health
Your body needs fatty acids in the right proportion to maintain good health and a fitter heart muscle. Rice bran oil consumption increases cholesterol elimination and reduces cholesterol absorption. This promotes the overall health of the cardiovascular organs and circulatory system. Oryzanol reduces bad cholesterol like LDL or VLDL. There is research that suggests people who possess the benefits of rice bran oil by consuming it daily observe a significant drop in cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
#3 Possesses Anti-Cancer Effects
Rice bran oil extracts and FRB (fermented rice bran) are promising therapeutic agents for preventing cancer and its therapy. They play an important role in suppressing and reducing inflammation, ceasing the cancer cell cycle, promoting cancer cell apoptosis, and to enhance chemopreventive effects further. Vitamin E, phytic acid, and oryzanol are the bioactive mechanisms of anticancer properties.
#4 Enhances Vitamin E Levels
Byproducts of cellular metabolism can be dangerous. For instance, it can affect healthy cells to mutate and turn into cancerous cells. Rice bran oil boasts 29 per cent of Vitamin E’s daily value. Basically, vitamin E includes tocopherol and tocotrienol. Their function as free radicals and antioxidants. These antioxidants neutralise the cellular metabolism byproducts and reduce the chance of cancer. Vitamin E also aids in healing wounds, reducing wrinkles, sunburn protection, and increased cell regeneration.
#5 Reduces Post-Menopause Symptoms
Consuming rice bran oil benefits women to improve overall strength, especially in women in their 40s during their menopause stage. It helps in reducing those irritating post-menopause symptoms. These symptoms include hot flashes, mood swings, irritations, and emotional distress. Also, it prevents luteinising hormone production, the hormone responsible for sudden hormone level change. Oryzanol in rice bran oil helps to manage hot flashes and mood swings.
Other Benefits of Rice Bran Oil
- Rice bran oil benefits thyroid functioning. It lowers the TSH- thyroid stimulating hormone in people suffering from conditions like hyperthyroidism. In addition, it influences the hypothalamus function, preventing any kind of dysfunction.
- Rice bran oil benefits muscle mass increase because of gamma-oryzanol. This gamma-oryzanol enhances endorphin levels in the body aiding in muscle development.
- Rice bran oil helps to reduce calcium absorption in the kidneys and prevents conditions like kidney stones.
- The antioxidants in rice bran oil boost the body’s immunity, acting like a health guard.
Uses of Rice Bran Oil
You can reap the benefits of rice bran oil in various ways. There are plenty of applications of this oil from food items to medicines and even cosmetics. Because of this, RBO is now common in many industries like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food industries.
Hair Oil
When it's hair care time, natural oils work wonders! Rice bran has high amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that make an excellent hair product. Use rice bran oil to massage your hair before you shampoo it. This will control the frizziness, and nourish the hair from root to tips, making it thicker with regular use.
Skincare
Use rice bran oil as a sunscreen by applying it to sun-exposed areas to protect it from UV rays. It protects the skin from environmental pollution damage as well. You can literally use rice bran oil as a makeup remover cause of its vitamin E-rich properties. The vitamin E from this oil penetrates deep into the skin and makes it soft and supple.
Cosmetic
Rice bran oil is widely used in skin cream, soap, hair conditioner, and lipstick manufacturing. It enriches the lips to be more soft and moisturised. It even contributes to the efficiency of nail polish spread on the nail.
Edible Oil
The antioxidant oryzanol in rice bran oil makes it richer than other cooking oils. It’s high temperature is best suited for deep frying which makes it a must-have shelf item in all kitchen households.
Anti-ageing product
Applying rice bran oil to the skin enhances blood circulation, skin tone colouration, eye bags prevention, dark circle reduction, and a lot more. It boosts collagen in the skin which smoothens out wrinkles.
Exfoliating scrub
Rice bran oil is non-greasy on the skin making it an excellent choice for skin exfoliation scrub. Mix rice bran oil with sugar/coffee/oatmeal and rub it in circular motions on the skin. This will boost cell regeneration and stimulate blood circulation for a radiant glow and youthful looking skin. This also tightens and brighten the skin appearance. You can even massage rice bran oil on wounded skin to reduce inflammation. It can also relieve skin troubles like eczema and dermatitis.
Conclusion
There are several health benefits of rice bran oil that we can possess by simply adding it to our daily staples. The benefits of lowering cholesterol, preventing cardiovascular diseases, reducing blood sugar, moisturising the skin, nourishing the hair; these are versatile benefits of rice bran oil that simply no other product/ingredient provides. Although the benefits seem too many, it essential to track the daily intake of this oil because excessive of anything is harmful to the human body. Excessive rice bran oil prevails to cause allergic reactions, inflammations, and discomforts.
FAQs
Does rice bran oil have high omega-3?
A. Yes, rice bran oil is enriched with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids where the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is higher at 20:1.
Which is better: rice bran or sunflower?
A. Sunflower oil has higher levels of vitamin E than rice bran oil. None-the-less, the higher smoke pot of rice bran oil (232 degree Celsius) allows the oil to retain its nutritional value even at high cooking temperatures as compared to sunflower oil (225 degree Celsius).