Nutrition In Long Grain Brown Rice

Long grain brown rice offers a nutty tasting alternative to long grain white rice, and it provides a versatile option for meals. This commonly available grain can be served alone as a side dish or incorporated into casseroles and other dishes. Nutritionally, long grain brown rice provides healthy carbohydrates and fiber as well as a range of vitamins and minerals.

Basic Nutrition

A 1-cup serving of cooked long grain brown rice contains 216 calories and very little fat -- 1.8 g, which accounts for just 8 percent of the calories. Eating a serving of this type of rice introduces 5 g of protein into your diet, although you need 46 to 56 g each day. You can boost the protein content of your meal by serving brown rice with chicken or fish. Long grain brown rice also provides 44.8 g of carbohydrates and 3.5 g of fiber.

Minerals

Including long grain brown rice in your diet provides a good source of magnesium. Each serving of this rice contains 21 percent of the daily recommended intake of magnesium, making it a useful for the health of your bones and maintaining your body's potassium levels. Each serving of the rice contains 16 percent of the phosphorus you require each day as well as lesser amounts of copper, zinc, iron and calcium.

Vitamins

Eat long grain brown rice to take in a variety of B vitamins. Each serving has 15 percent of the niacin you need daily as well as 14 percent of the vitamin B6 and 12 percent of the thiamin. You also take in 6 percent of daily recommended intake of pantothenic acid and 3 percent of the riboflavin. The B vitamins assist with converting foods to energy, and they also assist indirectly with manufacturing red blood cells, making hormones and maintaining your nerve function.

Benefits

People with diabetes may benefit from eating brown rice instead of white rice, according to a 2010 article in the New York Times. Because the glycemic index is lower in brown rice, it slows the rise of blood sugar levels. A study published in the August 2010 issue of the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association" reports that study participants -- Chinese adults -- who were reticent to eat brown rice due to its higher price and their assumptions about its taste and quality were more likely to eat it after education about its benefits.

Cooking Tips

Arsenic may exist on all types of rice grown in the U.S., including long grain brown rice, according to research published in the June 2007 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. Rinsing it with water and cooking long grain brain rice may help reduce the contaminants. Evidence in the January 2009 edition of the "Journal of Environmental Monitoring" notes that steaming rice reduces some of the arsenic but does not remove it. Cooking rice in a high volume of water is a better option, removing 35 to 45 percent of the arsenic. Researchers from the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences recommend both rinsing and cooking for ridding rice of the most arsenic. Despite arsenic presence on rice, John Duxbury, a soil chemist at Cornell University, notes that consumers should not be "overly concerned."