RAW rice drink, Horchata, bad idea?

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Tue May 13, 2014 9:24 am

My mom is with me from Guatemala and insists people there treat their diarrhea and tummy troubles with cooked rice water AND a pulverized raw rice drink called Horchata. It's usually made with milk, cinnamon and pulverized uncooked rice, but she made it for me with water instead of milk. I'm having D for a multitude of reasons right now, but I'm wondering, would uncooked rice be a bad idea? Does cooking help deactivate the lectins or phytic acids in rice? It's one of the only grains I have left, and I don't want to invite reasons to become reactive to it.

Post by **tex** » Tue May 13, 2014 11:13 am

Hi Zizzle,

Yes, cooking deactivates many/most lectins. However, since soaking also helps to remove lectins, apparently the left-over water may contain high levels of lectins. Cooking also helps to reduce the phytic acid content, but only to a moderate degree.

If I understand it correctly, phytic acid is mostly concentrated in the fiber, so filtered rice juice shouldn't present much of a problem. If the drink also includes the rice fiber however, then that effect (if significant) wouldn't be limited.

None of this is chiseled in stone, however.

Tex

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Tue May 13, 2014 11:26 am

Thanks. For Horchata, you soak the whole white rice for a couple of hours, then blend it in a blender. I can't recall if she changed out the water first. I hope so. Either way, I think I'll pass from now on. It's weird and chalky anyway.

patc73 · Post by **patc73** » Fri May 16, 2014 4:57 pm

Horchata is basically rice milk, like you buy in cartons here in the states. In Mexico, they add condensed milk, sugar, and cinnamon, but just the basic rice and water pulverized in a blender is the base. It hasn't bothered me, but then, I don't have it very often. It's good stuff!