India is the second largest producer of rice in the world next to China, producing about 100 MMT in every year. In India rice occupies the first place among all crops both in area and production. The crop occupies about 37% of the total cropped area and 44% of total production of food grains in India. Rice grain has a hard outer coating (husk or hull) surrounding the rice grain (endosperm). Between the grain and the husk is a composite dark brown coloured layer which is commonly called as bran and is about 5% the total weight of the paddy.
Rice Bran contains about 20% oil which holds more than 65% of the nutrients present in the bran, including the amazingly heart-friendly compound ‘Oryzanol’. Unfortunately, this invaluable product is mostly treated as a by-product by the rice milling industry and much of the nutrients are lost due to negligence in collecting and handling the bran itself. It is therefore imperative that utmost care is taken right from the rice milling process to ensure that all the nutrients are retained in the bran.
In its native form when extracted from the bran Rice Bran Oil is not readily useable for cooking due to some unwanted materials like waxes and free fatty acids that tend to burn and smoke when heated. The oil has to be refined to make it acceptable for daily cooking purposes. Problem is, almost all the nutrients in Rice Bran Oil are so delicate that they are lost if the oil is refined and processed in the same manner as other edible oils. It needs to be carefully processed without use of chemicals to retain its valuable nutrients – including Oryzanol – even while the unwanted materials are removed from it.
Rice Bran Oil has the most balanced fatty acid composition amongst edible vegetable oils as per WHO recommendation apart from valuable nutrients like Tocotrienol (a very powerful Vitamin-E), skin-friendly compound Squalene and above all the amazingly heart-friendly Oryzanol. Rice Bran Oil has been extensively researched the world over for its nutritive properties. It has been found to have the highest cholesterol lowering property amongst all the common edible vegetable oils. More importantly, Oryzanol present in the Rice Bran Oil selectively reduces the Bad (LDL) Cholesterol and improves the Good (HDL) Cholesterol – thereby improving the HDL-LDL ratio which is considered to be more important health parameter than Total Cholesterol. Oryzanol also improves hormonal balance in the body and is reported to be beneficial in menopausal symptoms. Most researches show that a daily intake of 300mg Oryzanol provides these desired health benefits. Since an average Indian consumes about 12kg edible oils annually that is about 33gm per day, Rice Bran Oil must contain minimum of 910mg Oryzanol per 100gm to provide the necessary health benefits.
Tocotrienol is a very powerful form of Vitamin-E which is a strong anti-oxidant that drastically reduces oxidised free-radicals in the body that damage the body cells leading to premature aging. It also prevents deposition of oxidised Bad (LDL) Cholesterol on the inner walls of the arteries – a process known as atherosclerosis which leads to blockade of arteries and eventually heart attack. Tocotrienol has also been found to actually reverse the scaling of the arteries and de-clog them. Strong anti-oxidant property of Tocotrienol also fights cancerous cells and improves immunity of body. Squalene is a compound abundantly present in our skin oil-cells and keeps our skin naturally soft and wrinkle free. Squalene present in the Rice Bran Oil is therefore easily absorbed by the skin and keeps the skin young and wrinkle-free.
Carefully sourced for the highest nutrient content, delicately processed without chemicals to minimize nutrient losses and with adequate quantity of nutrients to provide optimum health benefits, Fortune Rice Bran Health delivers the natural goodness of this wonder oil.