What are The Benefits and Risks of Using Brown Rice Protein Powder?
Author bio
Dr Jorge Metri PhD is a Nutritionist with vast experience in food design with natural ingredients. He also researches sensory sciences and food quality with cutting-edge technologies like Machine Learning. He writes and reviews content on these topics.
Dr Jorge Metri’s highlights:
- Invited Reviewer of two international scientific Journals
- PhD in Food Science with emphasis on reduced-fat salad dressings with non-animal derived proteins at Universidad De Las Américas Puebla
- Diploma in Artificial Intelligence at Universidad Anáhuac, México
- Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition at the Universidad Latino
“Science shows its true impact when we make it understandable for everyone” – Dr Jorge Metri PhD.
Professional experience:
Prior to doing his PhD, Jorge Metri worked as an independent nutritionist for almost two years, focusing on sports nutrition to enhance the performance of swimmers and triathletes.
Jorge Metri has worked on several multidisciplinary research projects, including fruit processing, the production of protein-based products, spices, seasonings, jams, and artificial intelligence applied to agriculture production and food quality.
In the food technology area, Jorge Metri has contributed to improving sales and profits of two entrepreneurs of artisanal food products by reformulating their products and standardizing their processes.
Due to the high volume of food production and innovation, the food industry will need new technologies for food characterization in the next years; Jorge Metri is looking for studying such technologies, in 2022, he was selected as a finalist in the IFT FIRST 2022 Food Science event for the Sensory & Consumer Sciences Division Graduate Student Pangborn Oral Competition with the work titled: Machine Learning Models for Mayonnaise Acceptability Prediction.
Education:
- 2018 – 2023: PhD in Food Science at Universidad De Las Américas Puebla of Puebla, México
- 2022: Diploma in Artificial Intelligence at Universidad Anáhuac, México
- 2011 – 2016: Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition at the Universidad Latino of Mérida Yucatán, México.
Main publications of Jorge Metri:
- Metri-Ojeda, J., Solana-Lavalle, G., Rosas-Romero, R., Palou, E., & Baigts-Allende, D. (2023). Rapid screening of mayonnaise quality using computer vision and machine learning. Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization, 1-13.
- Metri-Ojeda, J., Ramírez-Rodrigues, M., Rosas-Ordoñez, L., & Baigts-Allende, D. (2022). Development and Characterization of a Low-Fat Mayonnaise Salad Dressing Based on Arthrospira platensis Protein Concentrate and Sodium Alginate. Applied Sciences, 12(15), 7456.
- Ojeda, J. M., Rodrigues, M. R., & Allende, D. B. (2022). Study of the perception and the acceptability of mayonnaise ingredients among Mexican consumers and its global preference. Revista Española de Nutrición Humana y Dietética, 26.
- Metri-Ojeda, J., Nikiforidis, C., Sandoval-Peraza, M., Chel-Guerrero, L., & Baigts, D. (2019). Processing of Amaranthus hypochondriacus biomass for functional protein concentrates development. Journal of Food Research, 8(5), 70-81.
Conference papers:
- Allende, D. B., Alva, A. P., Haro, M. S., Martínez, A. S., & Ojeda, J. M. (2020). Bio-plastic polymers from renewable sources. INNOTEC, (19 ene-jun), 97-108
- Metri-Ojeda, J. C., Pérez-Alva, A., Recio-Cazares, S. L., & Baigts-Allende, D. K. (2020). Physicochemical and sensorial characterization of vegan mayonnaise using chia seed oil and mucilage (Salvia hipanica L.). Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos, 5, 485-489.
You can view some of Dr Metri’s work below and links to his professional profiles:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-metri-ojeda/
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jorge-Carlos-Metri-Ojeda-2
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SBi5hE8AAAAJ&hl=es
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7333-3688
This article will answer the query “What are The Benefits and Risks of Using Brown Rice Protein Powder?”. The article also presents what the quality of Brown Rice Protein Powder is, and how to incorporate it in your diet.
What are The Benefits and Risks of Using Brown Rice Protein Powder?
Brown Rice Protein powder has some health benefits like low allergenic (because rice allergy is not common); Brown Rice Protein powder is gluten free because rice does not have gluten; Brown Rice Protein powder could have antioxidant and antihypertensive properties due to small peptides (1,2).
On the other hand, one of the main health risks of Brown Rice Protein powder is the possible presence of toxic metalloids like Arsenic. Arsenic, if consumed in excess, can increase the risks of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and liver impairments (3).
However, you can rest assured because organizations like the FDA are constantly monitoring rice products to detect and remove those with unsafe concentrations of Arsenic (4).
How Arsenic Gets Into Brown Rice Protein Powder?
Arsenic gets into Brown Rice Protein Powder because Arsenic is a metal naturally present in soil, besides, this metal could be in water due to pollution. Hence, Arsenic is accumulated in Rice plants, and it is accumulated in all food products obtained from these plants (3).
Actually, all crops like corn, legumes, rice, and many others could have Arsenic. However, the physiology of Rice makes it more susceptible to accumulate more Arsenic than the other crops (3).
What is the protein quality of Brown Rice Protein Powder?
The Brown Rice Protein Powder is not a complete protein. Complete proteins are those containing all essential amino acids. If your diet lacks essential amino acids, your immune system could be weakened, and in the case of children, their growth can be impaired (5,6).
The Brown Rice Protein Powder does not meet the FAO recommendations for three essential amino acids: Lysine, Threonine, and Tryptophan (7,8). The following table shows the content of essential amino acids present in Brown Rice Protein Powder:
| Essential Amino Acid | Brown Rice Protein Concentrate (mg/g protein) | FAO recommendations (mg/g protein) |
| Histidine | 57.24 | 15 |
| Isoleucine | 39.50 | 30 |
| Leucine | 78.88 | 59 |
| Lysine | 41.60 | 45 |
| Methionine + Cysteine | 27.50 | 22 |
| Phenylalanine + Tyrosine | 80.96 | 38 |
| Threonine | 37.31 | 42 |
| Tryptophan | 15.58 | 23 |
| Valine | 59.2 | 23 |
Adapted from Watanabe et al. (7). and Leser (8).
If you want to consume plant-based complete proteins, you could combine Brown Rice Protein Powder with legumes, because legumes contain Lysine, Threonine, and Tryptophan. Some examples of legumes are lentils, chickpeas, peas, and beans (5).
What Other Sources of Plant-Based Protein Can You Consider?
You can consider other plant-based proteins like soy, wheat, maize, sorghum, pea, or lupin. Most of the plant-based protein sources can be found as a blend of protein isolate or protein concentrate powders (5). You can find some products here.
How to incorporate Brown Rice Protein Powder in your diet?
The most common way to incorporate Brown Rice Protein Powder is consuming it as a protein shake, but you can also add the protein powder into foods. Soups, juices, homemade pasta, breads, and cookies can be supplemented with Brown Rice Protein Powder to increase their protein content! (9,10,11)
Conclusion
This article answered the query “What Are The Benefits and Risks of Using Brown Rice Protein Powder?”. The article also presented what the quality of Brown Rice Protein Powder is, and how to incorporate it in your diet.
References
- Selamassakul O, Laohakunjit N, Kerdchoechuen O, Yang L, Maier CS. Bioactive peptides from brown rice protein hydrolyzed by bromelain: Relationship between biofunctional activities and flavor characteristics. J Food Sci, 2020;85(3):707–17.
- Singh A, Shi Y, Magreault P, Kitts DD, Jarzębski M, Siejak P, et al. A rapid gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry technique for determining odour activity values of volatile compounds in plant proteins: Soy, and allergen-free pea and brown rice protein. Molecules, 2021;26(13):4104.
- Biswas JK, Warke M, Datta R, Sarkar D. Is arsenic in rice a major human health concern? Curr Pollut Rep, 2020;6(2):37–42.
- Hojsak I, Braegger C, Bronsky J, Campoy C, Colomb V, Decsi T, et al. Arsenic in rice – A cause for concern. A comment by the ESPGHAN committee on nutrition. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 2014;60(1):142.
- Day L. Proteins from land plants – Potential resources for human nutrition and food security. Trends Food Sci Technol, 2013;32(1):25–42.
- Olson B, Marks DL, Grossberg AJ. Diverging metabolic programmes and behaviours during states of starvation, protein malnutrition, and cachexia. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle, 2020;11(6):1429–46.
- Watanabe M, Yamada C, Maeda I, Techapun C, Kuntiya A, Leksawasdi N, et al. Evaluating of quality of rice bran protein concentrate prepared by a combination of isoelectronic precipitation and electrolyzed water treatment. Lebenson Wiss Technol, 2019;99:262–7.
- Leser S. The 2013 FAO report on dietary protein quality evaluation in human nutrition: Recommendations and implications: FAO dietary protein report. Nutr Bull,. 2013;38(4):421–8.
- Detchewa P, Prasajak P, Phungamngoen C, Sriwichai W, Naivikul O, Moongngarm A. Substitution of rice flour with rice protein improved quality of gluten-free rice spaghetti processed using single screw extrusion. Lebenson Wiss Technol, 2022;153(112512):112512.
- Kelemen V, Pichler A, Ivić I, Buljeta I, Šimunović J, Kopjar M. Brown rice proteins as delivery system of phenolic and volatile compounds of raspberry juice. Int J Food Sci Technol, 2022;57(4):1866–74.
- Wójcik M, Różyło R, Schönlechner R, Berger MV. Physico-chemical properties of an innovative gluten-free, low-carbohydrate and high protein-bread enriched with pea protein powder. Sci Rep, 2021;11(1):14498.
