HEALTH researchers said last thursday they had found a troubling link between higher consumption of white rice and type 2 diabetes, a disease that in some countries is becoming a epidemic.
Further work is needed to probe the apparent association and diets that are notoriously high in sugar and fats should remain on the no-go list, they cautioned.
What we have found is that white rice is likely to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, especially at high levels, such as in Asian populations, " said Dr. Sun Qi of the Harcard School of Public Health.
"But, at the same time, people should pay close attention to the other things they eat. It is very important to address not just a single food but the whole pattern of consumption."
In the British Medical Journal, Dr. Sun's team said the link emerged from an analysis of four published studies, carried out in China, Japan, Australia and the United States. These studies followed 350.000 people over a period of four to 22 years. More than 13.000 people developed Type 2 diabetes.
In the studies carried out in China and Japan, those who ate the most rice were 55 per cent likelier to develop the disease than those who at the least. In the US and Australia, where consumption of rice is far lower, the difference was 12 per cent.
Participants in the two Asian countries ate three or four servings of rice a day on average, compared to just one or two servings a week in the Western countries.
White rice is the dominant form of rice eaten in the world. Machines produce its polished look by hulling and milling, leaving a grain that is predominantly starch.
Brown rice, bu contrast, has more fibre, magnesium and vitamins, and a lower glycaemic index, a measurement of sugar content.
Dr. Sun said the study did have limitations, including the lack of full details about what the volunteers ate in addition rice.
Source: mypaper Tuesday March 20, 2012 p.A11
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