Monday, March 29, 2010

Why Stabilized Rice Bran is one of the Greatest Things for your Body

You’ve probably heard about stabilized rice bran. But what is it exactly, and why is it so important for our bodies? How can you ‘stabilize’ rice in the first place? Isn’t rice already ‘stable’? 

We’ve all got questions, but not to worry: Here is a great explaination of what this special bran does, why it’s only hit the market in the last few years, and how its nutritional qualities make it one of the most incredible whole foods we can eat. And later I’ll tell you about one unique product in particular: Patty McPeak’s 24-7 Meal Replacement for Life, which features stabilized rice bran as its centerpiece.

WHAT PROCESSING TAKES AWAY
Most of the rice we eat is white rice, with an occasional bit of brown thrown in. This rice is ‘cleaned’, resulting in the the husk and bran being completely stripped from the kernel. Such a process removes most of the rice’s nutrients, and leaves us with calories that convert quickly into sugars — and don’t do much for our bodies. "This is not a good thing."


WHY WE COULDN’T EAT FRESH RICE BRAN BEFORE:
When rice is harvested, the lipase enzyme inside the rice bran meets some oil — also inside that rice bran — and quickly becomes rancid. The solution was always to mill the rice, leaving us with the less nutritious kernel. As a result, fresh rice bran was impossible to eat — unless you were a rice harvester, and had immediate access to it. But recently, some patented processes have managed to stabilize the rice bran, which is normally very sensitive to heat and other extremes. That’s why we refer to ‘stabilized’ rice bran — because it retains all the natural nutrients of rice, like its hundreds of antioxidants, while also having a long shelf-life.
 

WHY WE NEED ANTIOXIDANTS: Antioxidants work in tandem in order to help just about everything in our bodies — they are essential for disease prevention, for turning ‘off’ free radicals that can cause all sorts of diseases, and do dozens of other things that have not been fully studied in isolation as of yet. This is why whole foods and ‘original’ foods are simply better for us than isolated minerals and vitamins: all the parts inside them work together.
 
24-7 Whole Food Meal Replacement by Patty McPeak:
A relatively new entry to the market, Nanacea’s 24/7 meal replacement (http://www.nanacea.com/) features stabilized rice bran as its flagship ingredient. It comes in chocolate and vanilla flavors. The rice bran provides us antioxidants and phytonutrients — all of which may reduce the risk of heart disease, besides reducing the effects from dozens of other health conditions. On top of that, the product improves metabolism, is full of high-quality protein and fiber, and helps keep your blood glucose levels normal. If you’re looking for a way to get stabilized rice bran into your diet but don’t have a clear system for doing so, you’ve found it. Just mix together one of these shakes every day, and your body will begin seeing the benefits of stabilized rice bran immediately. And hey — it’s delicious, too.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Role of Phytosterols in reducing Cholesterol:

Plant sterols, or “phytosterols,” are cholesterol-like compounds found mostly in vegetable oils, nuts and legumes.

Phytosterols have the same function as cholesterol in the body. Cholesterol is a necessary component of a cell membrane. However, when cholesterol levels are high it is associated with heart diseases. Diets rich in phytosterols are known to reduce cholesterol levels. For example, in one study it was found that subjects fed wheat germ containing high phytosterols had 42% lower cholesterol in their blood as compared to those who were fed phytosterol-free wheat germ.*



The list below shows a few examples of food sources with the highest Total Sterol Content. Generally, oils have the highest sterol (plant based-cholesterol) level, vegetables and fruits have lower sterol content.
Rice Bran tops the list for healthy plant sterols with 1055mg per 100g!


Food Source / Total Sterol Content (mg/100g)
Rice Bran / 1055
Corn / 952
Wheat Germ / 553
Flax Seed / 338

NanaCea 24/7 by Patty McPeak is a nutritious meal replacement and natural-low calorie drink made with predigested stabilized rice bran derivatives. *

Patty’s formulation provides a total of at least 400 mg of phytosterols per serving. Studies show that diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol, which include two servings of food providing a daily total of at least 800mg of phytosterols in two meals may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Two servings of 24/7 provide 800 mg of phytosterols!*

To learn more about 24/7 – Click HERE!