Looking at Britain's embrace of international cuisines and the positive correlation with alarming rates of type 2 diabetes.
The number of people living with Diabetes in the UK is over 4 million and it is estimated to rise to over 5 million by 2025. Approximately 90% of these suffer from type 2 diabetes which is now considered one of the world's most common long term health conditions. Lifestyle related risk factors are widely cited in the growth rate of type 2 diabetes diagnoses in the UK with the NHS recommending eating healthily and losing weight to help prevent the progression of pre-diabetes becoming type 2 diabetes.
There is a noticeable trend toward supposed healthier food choices and an ever increasing apetite for international cusines whose staple carbohydrate is white rice. But how healthy is this innocent looking grain? Depending on the variety, white rice ranges from 70-90 on the Glycemic Index (a measure of how quickly foods increase levels of blood glucose). As such white rice is considered to be a high GI food. A widely held belief is that rice and other grains are good for us which may be a driving factor for Brits embracing international and in particular Asian cusines.
So is white rice helping us or harming us? The answer is actually both says Chris Perry of Grayns Revolution. There are two types of starch in rice; amylose and amylopectin. The former is a slowly digestible starch and as such is low on the glycemic index. Consumption of amylose is a great energy source and keeps blood glucose levels and insulin secretion from spiking leading to good levels of alertness and consistent energy levels. Amylopectin however is a rapidly digestible starch, landing high upon the glycemic index. It is this starch that spikes blood glucose levels and starts the insulin response that leads sugar to become absorbed into cells and turn to fat. Diabetes is one of the many health conditions that may arise from this process.
To enjoy the benefits of consuming white rice whilst diminishing the health risks we must therefore seek a high ratio of amylose to amylopectin. Older generations particularly in the Asian community are aware of the different starches in rices and many take a multi-step process to washing, soaking, simmering, draining and steaming rice to draw out as much amylopectin as possible, however, the surge in UK rice consumption has had to be met with that all too familiar dietary killer word "convenience". With boil in the bag and microwave rice, little if anything is done to improve the nutritional profile of the rice and uninformed convenience rice buyers are consuming up to the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of rice per cup.
Grayns Revolution understand that UK consumers demand convenience but believe convenience doesn't have to force consumers to test the boundaries of pre-diabetes. The Grayns TORC 1.9 health cooker cooks rice the old-fashioned way but at the click of a single button so consimers can enjoy light fluffy white rice with independently lab tested 65% reduction in amylopectin.
Christopher Perry
Grayns Revolution
02089591529
https://health.einnews.com/pr_news/428285777/is-white-rice-killing-us
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