If you walk into any nutrition store, you’ll find rows and rows of protein powders.
That’s because they’re extremely popular and if you get the right one, you could see amazing muscle gains.
Figuring out the right one can take a good bit of research. Luckily, I’ve already done research on one of them for you.
One of the more popular protein powders is brown rice protein powder. In this article, I’ll go over the best brown rice protein powder benefits.
Keep reading to find out more.
Benefits of Protein Powder
When you hear people talk about protein powder, it will likely be in a conversation about muscle gains.
This is the most popular use for protein powder, however, it’s not the only benefit you can get from it.
You can reap health benefits in addition to building muscles.
The health benefits depend on the type of protein powder you choose (which I’ll discuss further along in the article).
How the Body Uses Protein
Your body uses protein for just about everything.
Unfortunately, the human body doesn’t make protein so you must get it from food sources. The top areas that your body uses protein (besides the muscles) includes:
- Growing and strengthening hair
- Production of new skin
- Growing and strengthening nails
- Healing injuries
- Oxygenating your body
- Growing a baby in pregnant women
- Aiding in biochemical reactions
- Using them as hormones to communicate between cells
- Regulation of pH levels
There are plenty of other uses for protein that your body has. As you can see, these are major needs.
That means you need a lot of protein, especially since your body doesn’t make any. Even worse, the human body can’t store protein, so you must eat what you need, when you need it.
Weight Loss Benefits
Protein is one of the best things you can eat for weight loss.
One of the reasons for this is that protein is a highly satiable food. It makes you feel full on a moderate amount of it. It makes you feel fuller than carbohydrates do.
The fullness can reduce hunger cravings. This is an attractive quality for people who are on a reduced-calorie diet.
You can go longer without eating and you won’t feel like you’re torturing yourself due to hunger cravings. This makes it easier to keep yourself in a caloric deficit for weight loss.
Another way that protein aids in weight loss is that it boosts your metabolism for a short period after you eat it.
This is due to a phenomenon called the thermal effect of food (TEF). TEF is the rate at which your body processes a particular food.
Protein has a high TEF. It’s significant because that means your body uses more calories to process protein than other foods. This boosts your metabolism for a while.
Muscle-Building Benefits
When you strength-train, you cause micro-tears to occur in your muscles.
These tears heal and make your muscles stronger and bigger. Your body uses protein to repair the tears in your muscles.
Food may provide you with enough protein for your other bodily functions, but you need a large amount of protein to repair your muscles.
That’s why protein supplements are so popular among gym goers. These supplements ensure you have enough protein, and that you have the protein when you need it.
Brown Rice Protein Powder Benefits
There are two categories of protein: animal protein and plant protein. You guessed correctly that brown rice protein is a plant protein.
Some people swear that animal protein is the best out of the two, but there are plenty of reasons why brown rice protein may be a better choice.
Brown Rice Protein Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
- It has less calories than animal protein.
- It doesn’t have any cholesterol.
- It’s easier on the digestive system than animal protein.
- It’s a good source of fiber.
Cons
- It has a grittier texture so it doesn’t dissolve as well as animal protein.
- It has an “earthy” taste to it.
- It doesn’t have all the essential amino acids (not a complete protein).
Amino Acids
It was mentioned above that brown rice protein doesn’t have all the essential amino acids. Don’t let this sway you away from brown rice protein. It has all of the important amino acids.
Brown rice protein has the three most important essential amino acids that are best for building muscles.
They’re called branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). These amino acids are called leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
Out of these three, leucine is the most desired one because it’s the only one capable of building muscle on its own.
Brown rice has a high amount of leucine.
It has 5.8 mg per gram of rice. By contrast, whey protein has the most leucine of all proteins. It has around 8.6 mg per gram.
Even though the leucine content is a little less than whey, it may not make a big difference.
This is because your body only uses the amount of protein that it needs and the rest goes out to waste anyway.
Out of the nine amino acids, the only one that brown rice protein is missing is lysine.
If you’re using the protein for muscle building, lysine doesn’t help much with that anyway so you’re not missing anything.
Other Nutrients
Brown rice protein powder benefits include several other nutrients. It’s a great source of vitamin C.
One serving of the powder can have 70% of the daily recommended amount of iron that you need. It also has 30% of the daily recommended amount of iron.
Perhaps the most beneficial nutrient is fiber.
This was mentioned a little earlier in the article.
Fiber is what makes brown rice protein give you the full feeling. Fiber also helps to regulate blood glucose which is excellent for people with diabetes.
Muscle-Building Properties
You’re likely familiar with using protein powder for muscle building.
Whey is the most popular protein used for muscle-building, but studies have shown that brown rice protein is just as effective.
In fact, it’s excellent as a pre-workout supplement as well as a post workout supplement.
Some people are hesitant about using brown rice protein because it doesn’t have as much BCAAs as whey protein.
However, this concern is irrelevant. The body is only going to use so much BCAAs.
The rest of it doesn’t get stored. It gets excreted in urine. Therefore, brown rice protein can provide you with all the BCAAs you need to build muscles.
Ways to Consume Brown Rice Protein Powder
I’ll admit that the taste of brown rice protein powder isn’t the best (it’s also not the worst).
It also doesn’t blend completely in liquid. These two facts may turn people off from it. However, you can add this powder to more than water.
In fact, if you get a little creative, you may find some recipes you can’t live without. Here are a few suggestions.
Shakes/Smoothies
Green Goddess Smoothie with Sprouted Brown Rice Protein
If you like simplicity, you’ll love this smoothie. It’s very easy to make, has extremely healthy ingredients, and masks the brown rice protein well.
As you’ve probably deduced from the name, it’s made with green veggies.
However, it also includes fruit which gives it a yummy taste with just the right amount of natural sugar.
Nutrition Facts
- 200 calories
- 11g protein
- 8g fat
- 27g carbs
- 15g sugar
Vegan Superfood Smoothie
This is essentially a chocolate banana smoothie with a bunch of healthy superfoods added to it. One of those happens to be brown rice protein.
Surprisingly it doesn’t use any added sugar. The sweetness comes from the fruit that it uses.
This smoothie is a true powerhouse smoothie and is great to drink before an intense workout or as a post workout supplement.
Warning: This isn’t exactly a “diet” smoothie. It’s extremely high in calories, carbs, fat, and sugar..
Nutrition Facts
- 973 calories
- 16.1g protein
- 38g fat
- 133g carbs
- 84g sugar
Food
Fluffy Rice Protein Drop Biscuits
Everyone loves a great biscuit. These brown rice protein biscuits will pair well with a scrumptious dinner.
When cooked properly, you likely won’t be able to tell that there is brown rice protein in it at all.
Of course, you need to follow the directions thoroughly for best results. Note that your oven temperature needs to be higher than it would be for the average biscuits.
Nutrition Facts
- 241 calories
- 16.1g protein
- 7.7g fat
- 25.8g carbs
- 2.6g sugar
Vegan Protein Pancakes
If you want a healthy breakfast that’s packed with protein, you should try this pancake recipe.
It turns out that brown rice protein powder is great for making pancakes.
It’s one of the simplest things you can make with sprouted brown rice protein. You can also add some of your favorite toppings to customize it.
Nutrition Facts
- 271 calories
- 15g protein
- 18g fat
- 36g carbs
- 0g sugar
Treats
Banana Cupcakes with Brown Rice Protein and Protein Icing
This sugar-free cupcake recipe is a great way to get your protein in using brown rice. By the time you finish with the cupcakes, you likely won’t even remember that you used brown rice protein.
Keep in mind that these cupcakes are high in calories and carbs, so if you make them you should leave room in your daily diet for these numbers.
Nutrition Facts
- 225 calories
- 14g protein
- 8g fat
- 27g carbs
- 0g sugar
Flourless Keto Protein Brownies
If you never knew that you could make brownies without flour, this recipe will blow your mind. It only uses five ingredients and one of them is the protein powder of your choice (queue brown rice protein).
Another one, the sweetener, is also your choice. You can keep it sugar-free by using Stevia or something similar or you can use granulated cane sugar.
The nutrition facts below are from a sugar-free recipe that uses Stevia.
Nutrition Facts
- 126 calories
- 8g protein
- 9g fat
- 7g carbs
- 0g sugar
Final Thoughts About Brown Rice Protein Powder Benefits
Brown rice protein is an excellent way to get the extra protein you need. It’s just as good as any other protein, and can be even better than some.
Plus, it’s easy on the digestive system. The benefits of this protein encompass all areas of health. It has muscle-building properties and it can help you lose weight.
It can even improve your health indirectly.
You don’t need to be vegetarian or vegan to use brown rice protein. It’s great for everyone and rivals the best animal-based proteins.
The brown rice protein powder benefits are suitable for all diets and lifestyles.
The taste and texture can be a little strange but it is very manageable depending on what you blend it with.
Some people are champs and have no problem blending it with water. Others may need a little help and that’s okay.
The recipes provided can help you get the brown rice protein you need without sacrificing your taste buds.
