Rice Bran Oil

Which of the following statements about rice bran oil is false?

Rice bran oil:
A. is good for cooking tempura and popcorn
B. has been proven to lower cholesterol
C. has twice as much saturated fat as canola oil
D. is produced in India, Japan, China, Thailand and Italy

Rice bran oil is great for cooking tempura and popcorn, it's also great for salad dressing. Rice bran oil does lower cholesterol. Take a look at a recent research study to learn more. Rice bran oil is produced in many parts of the world, primarily in Asia but also in Italy and California.

So you might be thinking that rice bran oil has less saturated fat than canola oil, but actually it has almost three times as much more. This is the kind of thing that makes evaluating oils and fats so tricky. Just choosing oil or fat that is low in saturated fat doesn't tell the whole story. In the case of rice bran oil there is a whole lot more going on that makes this oil a healthy one. In addition to the cholesterol-lowering research, there is also some research done in India that seems to indicate that the fatty acid composition and antioxidants such as oryzanols and tocotrienols may have antiviral and anticancer properties.

Congratulations to Fred, Bryan and Ian the first ones to correctly choose the correct or in this case false answer. Fred please do contact me so I can send your prize.

If you're interested in learning more or finding where you can buy rice bran oil, check out the California Rice Oil Company website. You can also find a great comparison of rice bran oil to other popular oils such as grapeseed, olive oil and canola oil, etc.

FOOD + RICE