Health » Medicine & Research
April 12, 2012
The Hindu
According to a recent study. the more polished white rice poeple eat,
greater is the risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes. File Photo: Nagar
Gopal
There’s no denying that South India loves its rice. But latest
studies warn us to use caution while piling our plates with the refined
version of this staple grain
Have you ever wondered why over 40 per cent of the
people in India are diabetic? Some doctors say that this is because the
Indian body is prone to diabetes, just like some cars may guzzle more
fuel or give you less mileage, because that’s simply how they’re built.
Sedentary living and bad eating habits have only made the problem worse.
However, a recent and disturbing study conducted by Harvard University
has established that consuming just one cup of white rice (polished
rice) everyday can put you at risk to diabetes, regardless of your
nationality or whether you have a family history of the disease. Since
rice is our staple food, the implications of the study can have a great
long-term impact on the way India eats.
Polished Rice, Hello Diabetes
Researchers
from the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed four previous studies
conducted in China, Japan, US and Australia on the impact of white rice
in the onset of Type 2 diabetes. The researchers also analyzed whether
the Asian population were more at risk to diabetes and whether there was
a higher risk of contracting the disease if you ate greater amounts of
rice. All the participants had been diabetes free when the studies
began. The results of the study proved that the more polished white rice
a person eats, regardless of their nationality, they are at great risk
of contracting Type 2 diabetes. The authors of the study estimate that
the odds increase by 10 per cent with each additional serving of white
rice. And interestingly enough, women seemed more at risk than men. The
full study "White Rice Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes:
Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review" (PDF), was published in the British
Medical Journal.
If you are a typical South Indian
in your choice of foods, you would have grown up with that bed of rice
on your plate during most meals. The creative rice preparations in this
part of the world can really tempt you. What does the Harvard study mean
to us? Should avoid rice altogether or switch to the jaw-breaking
unpolished rice? Extensive research on this subject has been conducted
by Dr Vishwanathan Mohan, head of the Madras Diabetes Research
Foundation and Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, a WHO
Collaborating Centre in Gopalapuram, Chennai. His findings were
published recently in the British Journal of Nutrition. “I don’t fully
agree with the observation that just taking one cup of white rice per
day can cause diabetes,” says Dr Mohan. “One food item in isolation
cannot cause a disease. But controlling the amount of rice we consume is
very important because our research shows a strong epidemiological link
between the amount of rice consumed and the risk of diabetes. When the
rice consumption doubled from about 200 gms to 400 gms per day, the risk
of diabetes increased fourfold. It was 400 per cent higher even after
correcting issues (faced by participants of the study) such as obesity,
physical activity, family history of diabetes etc. So there seems to be
some kind of link.”
What we can do
We
know that the foods we eat are converted to glucose by our bodies.
White polished rice (in the parboiled or non-parboiled form) raises
blood sugar levels quickly. These are called high GI (Glycemic Index)
foods. In comparison, brown rice has a lower GI. When the body processes
brown rice, it releases glucose in the blood stream more slowly. The
foods that create high GI levels in your body are known to put you at
risk to diabetes in the long run.
“However, rice
isn’t the only culprit,” says Deepshikha Agarwal, dietician and sports
nutritionist. “Most people have sedentary lifestyles today. When this is
coupled with too much rice consumption, it exposes them to the risk of
diabetes. Stay more active and instead of completely boycotting rice,
substitute white polished rice with brown rice. Remember, white rice
primarily consists of starch which can be easily converted into fat and
stored in the body. With little nutritional value, it is best avoided.”
“We have conducted studies where we have substituted healthier whole
grain rice such as brown rice for white rice and have shown that the
blood glucose responses are much lower after the meal,” says Dr Mohan.
“The serum insulin levels are also reduced by substitution of brown
rice.”
How polished your rice is can also be
affecting the health of your family. If your rice is an attractive,
dazzling white, it will not providing you with the nutrients your body
needs. “Ideally, we should consume the whole grain in rice with the bran
intact as it contains plenty of nutrients. Once you remove the bran
completely, this makes the rice whiter and whiter. It becomes pure
starch and all the other key nutrients like vitamins, minerals,
functional nutrients (phytonutrients), protein and fibre content of the
rice are lost. Traditionally in the past, rice used to be only 2 per
cent polished, but today, we have varieties that are polished as much as
12 per cent,” says Dr Mohan.
The Plate Principle
If
you love rice, you’ll be happy to learn that experts don’t recommend
cutting it out of our diets permanently. “A balanced diet with the right
kind of rice is important,” says Agarwal. “Follow the plate principle,”
advises Dr Mohan. “Take quarter plate of rice and fill up the remaining
part with vegetables, lentils and other nutritive foods for a healthy
diet. Remember, what you consume with your rice is equally important, so
ensure that your plate is piled up with plenty of vegetables, lentils
and pulses such as bengal gram, green gram, black gram. All this will
that will add protein and fibre to your meal, so its not all starch.”
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