According to the health authorities, white rice has been proven to be one of the top concerns when it comes to diabetes. It is even more harmful than Healthline in the development of diabetes.
Zee Yoong Kang, the chief executive of the Health Promotion Board, has shared his plan to decrease the risk of this disease, saying that sugary drinks and obesity are the main causes of diabetes in the West.
Asian people are more prone to diabetes than Caucasians, which means people don’t necessarily need to be obese to be at risk of this disease. They can increase the levels of their blood sugar, thus increasing the risk of diabetes, by consuming starchy white rice.
Zee Yoong Kang has gathered enormous data. The Harvard School of Public Health discovered shocking results from the meta-analysis of 4 huge studies, conducted on over 350,000 people in 4-20 years of their life.
First, it was discovered that consuming one plate of white rice per day increases the risk of diabetes by 11% in the general population.
Second, it was shown that Asian people, like the Chinese, consume 4 servings of cooked rice a day, unlike people in Australia and America who consume about 5 servings per week.
However, Zee’s intention isn’t to convince Singaporeans to stop consuming their popular meal rice but to see people choose healthier alternatives.
When it comes to blood sugar, long-grain white rice increases its levels more than short-grain rice. When the levels of blood sugar increase, the pancreas starts producing more insulin, and such frequent increases can cause diabetes.
Zee also suggests adding 20% of brown rice in people’s servings of white rice. This percentage is enough to lower their risk of this disease by 16%. He explains that people don’t have to replace their entire diet, but just raise the amount of brown rice and whole grain.
Last month, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong stated that the annual country’s cost of diabetes is over $1 billion. This disease is a major cause of kidney failure, blindness, and amputations in Singapore.
The diabetes expert at Raffles Hospital, Dr. Stanley Liew, recommends consuming less rice. He says that most sodas and junk food are just as bad, which is why they should be discouraged.
Via Straits Times