NIGERIA’S OFADA RICE - Healthy Brown Rice for Healthy Eaters

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For health conscious people, Ofada rice will be of great interest because of its great health benefits. Ofada rice is roundish in shape and very popular in the South-West region of Nigeria but most people in Nigeria prefer the white rice over Ofada simply because Ofada requires more time for preparation while the white rice is faster to cook.

However, Ofada is of much better quality because it is free of chemicals, according to the recent Food experts’ summit in Ogun State, Nigeria, 2016; it was revealed that although Ofada rice and the white rice both contain similar amount of energy, protein and carbohydrates, Ofada rice has higher amounts of minerals and vitamins, the cellulose of Ofada rice not only increases the fibre content but also contains a variety of colour pigments that is beneficial for health.

Another study conducted by Osaretin Albert, T Ebuehi and AC Oyewole, carried out in 2007, on the effect of cooking and soaking on physical characteristics, nutrients composition and sensory evaluation of indigenous and foreign rice varieties in Nigeria, discovered that Ofada rice variety contains higher proteins at raw, cooked and soaked states as compared to imported rice. This study also found that Ofada rice contains rough surface, with more phosphorous and fibre which helps in the reduction of the risk of bowel disorder which helps to fight constipation.

Ofada rice has the following benefits according to information published by Public Press / Archives:

“It provides the most effective natural colon cleanser, it lowers the level of LDL Cholesterol aka bad cholesterol, it has a type of soluble fibre that promotes a sense of satiety, which in turn prevents over eating and weight gain, it may decrease the activity of a protein known to induce high blood pressure (contains Magnesium) and cardiovascular disease (Public Press/Archive, 2015). It contains an excellent source of whole grain especially for people with gluten free allergy, it is rich in manganese and in naturally occurring oils that normalize cholesterol level in our bodies, it provides the perfect baby’s first food, heals candida yeast infections and is delicious for vegetarian and vegan diets.”

You can read more via the links below.

References:

• Gold Myne, available at: http://www.goldmyne.tv/2015/06/health-benefits-eating-ofada-rice/ [accessed in September, 2016]

• Agro business, Nigeria, available at: http://agrobusinessng.com/nigeria-local-rice-10-health-benefits-of-eating-ofada-rice/ [accessed in September, 2016]

• Ofada rice blog spot, available at: http://ofadariceng.blogspot.ie/2016/06/ofada-rice-also-known-as-brown-rice-is.html [accessed in September, 2016]

• Ncbi, available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21331052 [accessed in September, 2016]

• American Physiological Society,(2015) Available at: http://www.the-aps.org/mm/hp/Audiences/Public-Press/Archive/2010/13.html [accessed in September, 2016]

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Blog Post Author: Maryanne Aniagolu-Oke is a bi-lingual freelance human resource generalist and community development expert who speaks English and German. Maryanne writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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