Black Rice

Black Rice

Black rice contains a boost of nutrients that help your body work properly, such as vitamin E, calcium and potassium. It has more protein, fiber and iron than other types of rice and contains high levels of: Amino acids. Antioxidants.

Researchers note that black rice was formed due to gene mutation, which triggered the production of the dark pigment anthocyanin, an antioxidant also found in blueberries, blackberries, eggplants and more. This dark pigment trait was then transferred to types of rice through crossbreeding, producing new varieties.

Black rice is not as easy to grow as other rice varieties because it only yields about 10 percent of the harvest that other rice varieties do. That makes the rice very expensive, which is why it was initially reserved only for the richest of the rich—which meant Chinese royalty at the time it was first discovered.