March, 2004

During national Oatmeal Month, we extolled the health benefits of oats and other great grains. Research now gives you another reason to eat oats, quinoa, millet, barley, rye, as well as brown rice all year long! Two reasons, in fact: your liver and gall bladder.

To avoid gallstones, which are usually created first in the liver, a high fiber diet is desirable, and brown rice and millet, supplemented with sprouts, wheat flour, quinoa, barley, spelt, and oats, top the list of gallstone busters.

If you're eating high fiber, you'll see the difference in your skin. Healthy skin with no jaundice or yellowish tinge indicates a healthy liver and gall bladder. Grains are also high in riboflavin and essential skin nutrients. When you are eating a high-fiber diet, your radiant skin and appearance will show the results, because grains work on the outside as well as the inside.

Nutty, packed-with-goodness brown rice acts as Drano for the toxins in your body. Cakes made of brown rice and millet make potent, energy-filled breakfasts that cleanse and maintain your overall health. Brown rice flour, used in baking, can enrich breads, desserts and pastries, and you won't even miss the hydrogenated oils employed in commercial baking to give sweet treats that addictive edge.

Brown rice makes an excellent side dish as pilaf, or in a main dish such as risotto. Have a meal with brown rice pilaf and steamed spinach, along with tomatoes or tomato sauce, and your liver and gall bladder will thank you.