Calories in Rice, red, unenriched, dry

What makes rice so powerful?

Red rice owes its deep crimson bran layer to anthocyanins, a class of water-soluble pigments more commonly associated with berries and red cabbage. Unlike white rice, which has had its bran and germ milled away, red rice retains these outer layers, preserving its natural fiber, protein, and fat content. The specific anthocyanins present—primarily cyanidin-3-glucoside and peonidin-3-glucoside—act as antioxidants in the plant to protect it from environmental stressors like UV radiation and pathogens. When consumed, these compounds behave similarly, scavenging free radicals in the human body. Historically, red rice varieties like Bhutanese red rice and French Camargue red rice have been cultivated for centuries in their respective regions, thriving in specific climates where the soil and water conditions allow the pigments to develop fully. Because this entry specifies unenriched dry rice, the vitamins and minerals present are entirely naturally occurring within the grain's intact bran and endosperm, without synthetic fortification. The higher fat content (3.44g per 100g) compared to white rice also comes from the retained germ, which is rich in natural oils.