Brown Rice

Rice grown for food reaches mills with a tough hull around each kernel. The mill dries the grain and removes that hull to make brown rice. Milling it further would remove the bran and germ to make white rice.^1,2,6,7

1. 01 // Source Rough rice Harvested kernels arrive at the mill with their tough, inedible hulls still attached.
2. 02 // Process Grain dried The mill dries rough rice before storage and milling to limit mold growth and grain breakage.
3. 03 // Process Hull removed Hulling takes off the outer covering while leaving the bran coating and germ on the kernel.
4. 04 // Output Brown rice Whole or ground grain reaches the food plant, where its starch cooks during kibble making.

1. 01

   Supplies digestible energy

   Cooking opens rice starch to digestion. In a controlled dog feeding study, the carbohydrate fraction of a food made with brown rice was highly digestible.^1,5

2. 02

   Holds kibble together

   Starch softens and binds during extrusion, helping dry food keep its shape. Brown rice supplies that starch without a separate extract.^2,5

3. 03

   Draws on existing supply

   Rice mills already dry, hull and sort grain for food. Manufacturers can source that milled grain whole or ground as a bulk starch for recipes.^5,7

How much Published dog diets have used about 33% to 45% brown rice by recipe weight; those trial amounts do not describe every food.^2,3

1. Brands say

   Brown rice has more fiber than white rice

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Keeping the bran makes the difference. In one ingredient comparison, brown rice had 1.21% crude fiber against white rice's 0.14%, both as tested. That is extra fiber, but rice remains chiefly starch.^1,5,6

2. Brands say

   Dogs digest brown rice well

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   An 8-beagle comparison measured 91.61% dry matter digestibility for the brown rice diet. A separate 14-beagle trial also found high digestibility. Both tested complete foods, so neither figure measures rice alone.^1,2

3. Brands say

   Brown rice keeps blood sugar steadier

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In a 14-beagle trial, the brown rice diet produced an 8.3 mg/dL peak glucose rise against 15.2 for corn. Blood glucose still rose, and the trial did not measure a lasting health benefit.²

4. Owners say

   Brown rice in kibble causes arsenic poisoning

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Seven dogs eating rice-based food had higher hair arsenic than 9 dogs avoiding rice. The authors said the levels did not indicate toxicity; they neither isolated brown rice nor measured poisoning.⁴

5. Critics say

   Brown rice is just filler

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Feedipedia reports an 86.9% starch average, and an 8-beagle feeding study found the brown rice diet's carbohydrate fraction highly digestible. Calling usable energy filler misses its job, though rice is not a meat protein replacement.^1,5