History of white rice:
History of white rice:
History of white rice:
Traditionally, ?brown? or whole grain rice was a staple food in many Oriental countries. The oils contained in the germ of whole grain rice or wheat can go rancid rather quickly, especially when exposed to air (as when ground into flour) and stored at room temperature. Thus whole grains have a somewhat limited shelf-life (which can be extended by sealing them in an airproof container and refrigerating them). Thus, in an effort to extend the shelf-life of rice, in the 1800s, the Germans perfected rice milling machines which stripped the bran and germ from rice yielding white rice. Advertising of that era convinced people who could afford it that this new white rice was a superior food to be sought after. This also was an age of conquest for European peoples and while European colonists in Asian areas adopted the rice-eating habits of the indigenous peoples, they preferred to eat socially-acceptable, expensive, white rice rather than the inexpensive brown rice consumed by the local ?poor? people. Interestingly, these white settlers and navy personel in the Orient frequently came down with a disease called beriberi which the poor people didn?t get.
Symptoms of beriberi:
Symptoms of beriberi, many of which are neurological, include fatigue, irritation, poor memory, sleep disturbances, anorexia, abdominal discomfort and constipation, nerve problems like burning sensations in the feet, calf muscle cramps and weakness.
Fotitified white rice:
Fully milled and polished white rice is required to be ?enriched? with vitamins B1, B3 and iron. But the form of these nutrients when added back into the processed rice is not the same as in the original unprocessed version, and at least 11 lost nutrients are not replaced in any form even with rice "enrichment".
