1. Polished vs converted rice Click the big red button to run the slide show

2. Polished rice Polished rice is just milled to remove the bran and with it a good deal of minerals as shown in the next slide

3. Polished (milled) rice M M M M M Bran Endosperm

4. Converted rice Converted rice is parboiled before milling to remove bran The theory is that this causes the minerals in the bran to move into the endosperm and thus be preserved in the edible part when the bran is removed This is shown in the next slide

5. M M M M M Effect of parboiling and milling Bran Endosperm

6. Does it actually work? Evidence from the USDA database comparing the mineral content of polished and converted rice seems to indicate that it does (see the next slide)

7. Mineral/100g ricePolishedConverted Calcium28 mg55 mg Iron0.80 mg0.74 mg Magnesium25 mg27 mg Phosphorus115 mg156 mg Potassium115 mg187 mg Sodium5 mg3 mg Zinc1.09 mg1.04 mg Copper0.220 mg0.267 mg Manganese1.0881.110 mg Selenium15.1 mcg23.9 mcg Taken from the USDA National Nutrient Database