Eating white rice raises risk of developing diabetes

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health shows people who eat a lot of white rice may significantly raise their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Harvard researchers analysed four earlier studies on white rice consumption that involved more than 352,000 people from China, Japan, US, and Australia, who did not have diabetes. The researchers found after follow-up periods that ranged from four to 22 years, that nearly 13,400 people had type 2 diabetes.

The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS News) reported that people who ate the most rice were more than 1.5 times likely to have diabetes than people who ate the least amount of rice. What is more, for every 5.5 ounce-serving of white rice - a large bowl - a person ate each day, the risk rose by 10 per cent.

This applies for both Asian and Western cultures although due to findings suggesting that the more rice eaten, the higher the risk, it is thought that Asian countries are at higher risk.

In China, people eat an average of four servings of white rice per day while those in Western countries eat fewer than five servings a week, the researchers said.

Type 2 diabetes has symptoms like failure for the body to use insulin, fatigue, dry mouth, frequent thirst, frequent urination, itchy skin, blurry vision, loss of energy and weight loss. However, the disease is treatable.

The fact is that we can’t change our genes hence it is vital to think about how the food eat will affect us. We should at least balance our diets instead of depending on one type of meal.
Ivan Wamono,
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