Brown Rice vs. White Rice: Which Is the Healthier Choice?

Rice has been a culinary staple for thousands of years across cultures all over the world, especially in several Asian countries including China, India, Japan, and South Korea. But this grain’s popularity has since gone global with this grain taking up permanent residence in many pantries across America.

Historically, white rice has been the traditional choice, however, brown rice has become a go-to choice as well, with particular thanks to its reputation for having more health benefits than white rice. But what are the nutritional advantages of brown rice compared to white rice? How do white and brown rice differ from one another, and how do those differences impact our health (if at all)? Is it really “healthier” to swap white rice for brown rice when ordering takeout or deciding what to make for dinner? It’s time to unpack all your burning rice nutrition questions.

Nutritional Comparison Between White and Brown Rice

How do these rice relatives differ on a physical and nutritional basis? “Physically, white rice contains just one part of the usual rice grain anatomy due to a refining process that removes two key parts of whole rice grain,” explains clinical dietitian Caitlin Carr, MS, RD. 

Whole grains, including whole rice grains (aka brown rice), consist of three structures, or layers—the bran, germ, and endosperm. White rice is made by stripping the bran and germ from brown rice leaving behind its starchy core, the endosperm.

Brown rice provides a bit more fiber than white rice. 

This yields some important nutritional differences between the two rice varieties. In two-thirds of a cup, brown rice contains about two grams of fiber whereas white rice contains only about 0.5 grams. 

Brown rice contains more vitamins and minerals than white rice. 

Additionally, “brown rice has more essential minerals like manganese, phosphorus, selenium, and magnesium, along with B-vitamins such as niacin and folate when compared, per cup, to white rice,” Carr says. 

Brown rice offers more plant compounds than white rice. 

Brown rice is also a good source of plant compounds like flavonoids. These additional phytonutrients found in brown rice help to support better gut, bone, heart, immune, and metabolic health.

Brown Rice Nutrition and Health Benefits

Brown rice is digested more slowly and produces lower blood-sugar spikes.

“Because of its fiber content, brown rice is a complex carbohydrate, while white rice is a simple carbohydrate. This means that brown rice takes a little longer to digest than white rice,” Carr explains. The increased digestion time of brown rice provides more stable energy levels and also has a positive impact on blood sugars through a more gradual rise and decline in sugar levels. This benefit is particularly significant for those with metabolic concerns like type 2 diabetes, as it can make blood sugar management easier.

The soluble fiber in brown rice supports a healthy gut and digestion.

“Brown rice also contains soluble fiber, which is beneficial for maintaining bowel regularity, lowering cholesterol levels, and feeding our gut microbiome,” Carr says. “When the microorganisms in the gut microbiome metabolize soluble fiber, they produce short-chain fatty acids that are absorbed by the gut lining, beginning a cascade of events that are suggested to lower inflammation and oxidative stress throughout the body.”

This benefit is part of the reason why a thriving gut microbiome is linked to better immune, gut, and brain health, among other impressive benefits.

White Rice Nutrition and Health Considerations

As we’ve already started to see, white rice doesn’t quite measure up nutritionally to brown rice due it’s lower fiber and micronutrient content. White rice’s lower fiber content also equates to a higher score on the glycemic index, a scale to measure how quickly a given food will elevate blood sugars. This index ranks foods on a scale of zero to 100, where the higher the score, the more rapidly a food gets digested in the body, and the more quickly our blood sugars spike.

As a refined, or simple, carbohydrate, white rice has a glycemic index of 70 while brown rice measures in at 50. Because of this, very frequent white rice consumption may put us at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, per a 2019 review.

This is not to say, however, that white rice can’t be part of a balanced, healthy diet—especially when it’s eaten accompanied by healthy, high-fiber and high-protein sources. “Brown and white rice are both naturally gluten-free and low-FODMAP foods,” Carr notes, “For individuals with celiac and/or trialing a temporary elimination diet for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), rice [of either variety] may be a good carbohydrate option to include in their meal plans.”

Taste and Texture Comparison

The eating experience between these two grains is similar, and they’re typically easy to substitute for one another—however, there are some notable differences. White rice tends to offer a softer texture and more neutral, mild taste. Brown rice, on the other hand, has a chewier texture and nuttier flavor. These differences can take some getting used to if white rice has always been your go-to, but that doesn’t preclude brown rice from being an equally delicious swap-out for white rice in most recipes.

The Bottom Line

White rice is a delicious, traditional, and nostalgic comfort food for many of us, but when you dig into the nutritional details, there’s no denying that brown rice has a leg up in terms of beneficial fiber, micronutrients, and plant compounds. And while white rice enjoyed in moderation can still fit into a healthy, balanced lifestyle, substituting for brown rice every so often can definitely provide in some wholesome benefits.

“I love that both white and brown rice are affordable sources of carbohydrates that can be utilized in so many dishes, made in batches, and stored easily,” Carr says. Some tasty ways to enjoy rice, both white or brown, include stir fries, fried rice, sushi, curry, rice and beans, rice pilaf, jambalaya, baked rice, soups, chicken and rice dishes, and stews.