Black Rice to Improve Diabetic Nephropathy and More - The Epoch Times

In ancient China, black rice was reputed to cure disease, contribute to longevity, and was used as a tribute to the Emperor—so powerful and rare it was.

According to the Chinese medical classic “Compendium of Materia Medica,” black rice can “nourish yin and tonify the kidneys, keep the body fit and warming the stomach, improve eyesight and promote blood circulation.” Studies have also confirmed that black rice contains anthocyanins (a group of deep red, purple and blue pigments found in plants), which can effectively improve diabetic nephropathy(kidney disease), and vision, as well as prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The Chinese medicine classic “Huang Di Nei Jing” (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine) states that the theory of “five colors nourish the five internal organs,” essentially meaning that foods of different colors have different health benefits, and eating more of one and/or the other of the five-colored foods can impact the corresponding five internal organs.

In that respect, it is said that white moisturizes the lungs, yellow is for the spleen, red for the heart, blue for the liver, and black for the kidneys.

It is also found to alleviate oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines and inhibits renal interstitial fibrosis and glomerulosclerosis in rats with diabetic nephropathy.

In November 2022, a study published in the journal Translational Medicine also pointed out that anthocyanins can improve kidney function in patients with diabetes.