I am not a big fan of rice. I do not know why but its’ taste never seemed too appealing to me. My mother kept telling me that it is a healthy food to eat, but if I could avoid it, I must surely did so. Until a couple of years ago, when I decided to keep a weight-loss diet in order to lose a few pounds for a friend’s wedding.

The diet included rice and I had to follow it exactly so that it would work. Therefore, I did. I got used to the taste of rice and with its’ presence in my daily meals and today not two days go by without me eating some rice. Eating rice is healthy. Now I know that is true. I feel much better both physically and mentally.

Rice is in fact the seed of a monocot plant called Oryza Sativa. It is the second grain in the world to be produced after maize. It is particularly popular in Asia, the Middle East, West Indies and Latin America. It serves both culinary and health benefits.

Rice was originally domesticated in Asia in the region of the Yangtze River valley and it suffered a rapid expansion in the Southeast Asia and in India and Pakistan. It was brought to Europe in the tenth century by the Moors and to the United States in 1694 in the region of South Carolina. Today, major rice producing countries are China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia and Bangladesh with China owning 92 percent of the rice production worldwide.

Old Chinese wise men always said that eating rice is healthy. I do not know if indeed they knew the exact health benefits that rice provides but the point is they were right. I guess that is why they were called wise; they were always right about things.

Rice is used with high-blood pressure patients because of its low sodium percentage. It is the most recommended food for people suffering from hypertension and high-blood pressure. There are two categories of rice: the white rice and the whole grain rice. The whole grain rice is healthier and has higher nutritional values because it is not processed.

Rice represents a great source of energy and helps the brain to function normally. It contains carbohydrates, which provide the body with a lot of energy and it is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, iron, and fiber. It is also recommended in diets and in daily eating habits because of their lack of cholesterol or harmful fats. Researchers have also recommended whole grain rice on a daily basis because it is though they can protect the body against cancer due to the presence of insoluble fiber in their composition. Rice is also used for skin care, especially rice water that is recommended as an ointment for skin inflammations.