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STRUCTURED COMPARISON
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Choose two categories from the same family. The same properties, equal visual weight, sources next to the claims they support.
STRUCTURED COMPARISON
Choose two categories from the same family. The same properties, equal visual weight, sources next to the claims they support.
Food
Unmilled grain keeps its bran, and with it the manganese, nickel, copper, selenium and zinc that milled rice has markedly less of. Arsenic, cadmium and chromium stay too: in the measurement their contents in bran and in milled grain are linearly related.
In a measurement of 446 grains, milling removed on average 44.4% of arsenic, 19.8% of cadmium and 15.4% of chromium relative to the whole grain. The same operation took away 57.7% of manganese and 56.9% of nickel and about a third of copper, selenium and zinc — although only about a tenth of the grain is milled off.
For brown rice the meta-analysis had three estimates against fifteen for white, and the authors call the studies conflicting. That does not mean brown rice is safer or more dangerous: it means there is not yet enough to say about it with the same confidence.
The meta-analysis pooled eight cohort studies and eleven controlled trials, assessed risk of bias with recognised tools and rated the strength of the evidence separately. Cohort data show association, not causation, and the figure 1.16 should be read that way.
For brown rice, parboiling with absorption removed 54% of the inorganic arsenic and raised the margin of exposure 2.2-fold. The other three methods lowered the content for white rice only. A review warns, though: washing and cooking in excess water carry away nutrients along with the arsenic.
For brown rice the same meta-analysis had three cohort estimates and notes that the studies conflict. It gives no pooled risk figure for brown rice — and neither does the platform.
In a meta-analysis of eight cohorts, white rice intake is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes: a risk ratio of 1.16 with a confidence interval from 1.02 to 1.32, comparing extreme intakes. These are observational data: they show an association, not a cause.
Counted for this table only, not for the whole site.
The difference between milled and unmilled grain is one trade, not a list of advantages. Milling removes on average 44.4% of arsenic, 19.8% of cadmium and 15.4% of chromium, and with them more than half the manganese and nickel and about a third of the copper, selenium and zinc, although only a tenth of the grain is milled off. In observational data, white rice intake is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, a risk ratio of 1.16; for brown rice the studies conflict and the meta-analysis gives no pooled figure. The amount of arsenic also depends on cooking: parboiling with absorption removes 73% from white grain and 54% from brown. The rows describe what stays in the grain and what leaves it.
FREQUENTLY EXPLORED
Four home methods were tested on three varieties. Parboiling followed by absorption removed 73% of the inorganic arsenic from white rice and raised the margin of exposure 3.7-fold. The other methods also lowered the content — but for white rice only.
Evidence reviewed: September 3, 2026
Sources are reviewed by the CONTRAST editorial team. External links open in a new tab.