Black sticky rice is a food ingredient that is often processed as porridge, cakes, and puddings. Behind the legit taste, black sticky rice turns out to have many health benefits, from maintaining digestive health to preventing heart disease and anticancer.
Black glutinous rice is black when uncooked. After cooking, the color becomes purplish. The black color of black sticky rice is a sign that this food contains anthocyanins in abundance. Anthocyanins are antioxidant pigments, which are also found in eggplant and blueberries.
Black sticky rice also contains iron, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamin E, and minerals such as potassium, sodium (sodium), magnesium, and zinc. From the many nutrients and vitamins above, we can conclude that the benefits of black sticky rice are also no less.
Benefits of Black Sticky Rice for Health
Various benefits of black sticky rice for health, including:
- Supportbody endurance
The ability of black sticky rice may be related to the high vitamin E in it. Apart from strengthening the immune system, vitamin E also protects cells from damage caused by free radicals.
This may also be related to the high anthocyanin content in black sticky rice. In fact, the anthocyanin content, which is an antioxidant, is higher in black sticky rice than in blueberries.
- Fight cancer and heart disease
In addition, antioxidants also have anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. Anthocyanins as antioxidants are known to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. However, the discovery of the anticancer properties of this substance still requires further research.
- Maintain digestive healthBlack glutinous rice is included in whole wheat, so the fiber content is quite high. Fiber is very important in maintaining gut health. In addition, fiber can also help lose weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol. According to research, black glutinous rice also has a probiotic effect that is good for digestive tract health.
- Prevent anemia
Therefore, consuming black sticky rice is believed to reduce the risk of developing anemia due to iron deficiency. However, this still needs to be studied further.
- Forming cells and tissuesBlack sticky rice is also rich in protein, so it can be an alternative source of vegetable protein. Protein is important in forming cells and building various body tissues, including skin and bone tissue.
- Natural food coloring
Apparently, the color pigments in black sticky rice can be used as natural dyes in food processing, ranging from pink to black. Using food coloring from black sticky rice will be better for health because it is a natural ingredient, rather than using artificial dyes.
Several studies say that consuming food or drinks with artificial coloring has the potential to cause various health problems, such as an increased risk of cancer, hyperactivity in children, and allergies.
Some of the benefits of black sticky rice above are still only theoretical and still need to be proven through further clinical research. However, there is nothing wrong with including black sticky rice in the daily diet, considering that it contains various important nutrients.
