If you like rice, but are concerned about or have diabetes, try brown rice instead of white rice. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that people who ate five or more servings of white rice a week had a 17% increased chance of developing diabetes than those who ate little or no white rice. In comparison, those who consumed brown rice at least twice a week had an 11% decreased risk in developing diabetes than those who ate little or no brown rice.
The study, led by Dr. Qin Sun, MD from Harvard School of Public Health, focused on three long term studies of almost 200,000 nurses and health professionals over a 14-22 year period. Approximately 5% of the participants were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes during the study.
Additional factors do need to be considered with this study. For instance, those who consumed brown rice were more closely associated with a “health-conscious lifestyle” but it is known that the body does release insulin much more quickly into the body after consuming white rice than brown rice. For more information, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/14/brown.rice.diabetes/index.html?iref=allsearch.
