Each serving of polished rice a day increases the risk of type2
diabetes by 1 percent, according to a study being published in the British
Medical Journal.
Polished rice is commonly called white rice and one serving
refers to nearly 160 grams. “Higher consumption of white rice is associated
with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in Asian (china
and Japan) populations,” wrote the authors from the Harvard school of public
health, Boston.
The conclusion was based on a meta-analysis of 3, 52,384
people who were followed up for 4 to 22 years. The participants were from
China, Japan, the United States and Australia.
Correlation found only in the case of two Asian countries
A “positive association” between white rice intake and
increased risk of diabetes was found only in the case of the two Asian
countries where rice is a staple food. This association seems to be stronger
for Asians than for western populations, the authors said. Despite the not so strong association in
western countries, the researchers estimated that about 167 new cases of
diabetes per 1, 00,000 people would occur every year for every additional
serving of white rice a day.”
White rice primarily contains starch, as the polishing
removes most of the nutrients found in the bran such as insoluble fibre, magnesium,
vitamins, and lignans (a group of chemical compounds acting as antioxidants). Insoluble
fibre and magnesium, for instance, have been found to lower the risk of Type II
diabetics.
Double harm
Unlike brown rice, polished rice has a high glycaemic index (an
indicating of glucose rising effect of a food) and is a major contributor of
dietary glycaemic load. Higher dietary glycaemic load is generally associated
with increased risk of diabetes. Hence, the harmful effects of polishing are
two pronged-It removes the nutrients that would cut the risk of diabetes and at
the same time pushes up the glycaemic index, thus increasing the risk of the
disease.