By Catherine dela Angela, UPLB Intern

What is Organic Rice?

Organic rice is grown without the usage of pesticides or any chemical fertilizers, and since rice is the prominent staple food in the Philippines (Mamiit, Yanagida, & Miura, 2021), eating the healthier kind of rice is better health-wise. 

Benefits of Organic Rice

Organic rice is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that protect the cells caused by free radicals, hence the other name for antioxidants— “free-radical scavengers” (Ware, 2018) and free radicals cause oxidative stress. Free radicals are compounds that cause harm to the body if their levels become [too] high.

Unpolished and naturally pigmented rice has anthocyanins (Limtrakul, Semmarath, & Mapoung, 2019). Anthocyanin is believed to help reduce inflammation, reduce the risk of certain cancers, protect against type 2 diabetes, and improve brain function. Its additional benefits are Ultraviolet (UV) protection and antimicrobial effects (Petre, 2022).

Organic rice is also high in dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is a fiber that the body can’t digest or absorb, instead, it just passes in the stomach, small intestine, colon, and out of the body. A high-fiber diet can normalize bowel movements and also help maintain a healthy bowel. It can also lower cholesterol levels and help control blood sugar levels (Mayo Clinic, 2021).

It has low sugar content. A low sugar diet can prevent a person from acquiring diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. It also reduces inflammation and can improve a person’s mood (Capritto, 2021).

All of these mentioned benefits are all present in the organic rice that GlowCorp provides– Bios Dynamis, Cordillera Treasures, and Prime Organics. Moreover, Pecuaria’s Pro Organics also has high magnesium content which can help in migraine (Cadman, 2018), and manganese content which can help strengthen one’s metabolism (Li & Yang, 2018). These products are available in more than 950 supermarkets near you as GlowCorp has partnered with several known supermarkets such as Puregold, Robinson’s Supermarket, Shopwise, Rustan’s  Waltermart, SM, and All Day Supermarkets, to name a few.

On top of that, in 2021, GlowCorp was able to supply 420 metric tons of organic rice to its partner supermarkets. With this, 8 organic rice suppliers benefited from the marketing initiatives of GlowCorp namely Pecuaria Development Cooperative, Saradit na Kristiyanong Komunidad Farmers Corporation (SKKFC), and Don Bosco Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Kasappi ARC, Mayudi Corporation, Magarao Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Joyful Garden Organic Farmers Corporation, and HBIPO.