Glutinous rice
Glutinous rice or Khao Kam (Black sticky rice) Black sticky rice or Khao Sinil is a type of glutinous rice that is naturally purple-red in color. It is popularly grown in the northern and northeastern regions of Thailand, but not much because it is not a staple food. It is grown alongside sticky rice and jasmine rice. It is popularly used to make Khao Lam or as a dessert called Khao Nam Khao Piak or steamed and mixed with sugar and young coconut. Khao Kam is a native rice of Asia. It is currently grown throughout neighboring countries such as the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and the People's Republic of China. Although it is a type of glutinous rice, when thinking of the word "sticky rice", you may think of the word "steamed" in the local language of northerners and northeasterners. But in fact, besides steaming, Khao Kam can be cooked in a rice cooker. It is eaten similar to brown rice. It can be cooked using 1 or 2 cups of jasmine rice per handful of Khao Kam, or you can cook the whole pot of Khao Kam. The proportion or amount depends on the consumer's desire to receive the benefits and nutrients from this type of rice. What are the benefits of black rice?
In black rice, there is a substance called OPC (Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins), a natural antioxidant. OPC is found in abundance in the skin and seeds of fruits such as grapes, blueberries, plums and pine bark, especially in grape seeds. OPC found in black rice is the same substance extracted from black and red grapes, pine bark. It is a superantioxidant that is more effective than vitamins C and E, and more effective than antioxidants found in vegetables and fruits. The benefits of OPC include:
OPC helps inhibit the adhesion of cholesterol to the blood vessel walls, thus preventing blood clots, helping blood circulate better and reducing the risk of heart disease.
OPC helps prevent eye deterioration, protects against diabetic eye degeneration, prevents retinal degeneration, prevents brain degeneration, protects the skin from UV rays, prevents skin deterioration and wrinkles.
Therefore, OPC is abundantly found and extracted from plants, fruits that are purple, red or purple-red. There are advocates who regularly drink red wine fermented from grapes to prevent heart disease.