To avoid getting Diabetes, or for better control of Diabetes, people have been substituting brown rice and whole grains for white rice because they believe white rice may cause Diabetes Type 2. Others believe portion size and the amount of total carbohydrates in the diet is the determining factor. Many people choose to believe tendency toward Diabetes is totally genetic and they eat what they want unless or until they are given the diagnosis of diabetes. A very well done study taken from Medscape Internal Medicine combined and analyzed data from multiple studies in the West and in Asia. They concluded that each serving per day of white rice increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 11% in the total population. They attributed the increased risk to an increase in Glycemic load and also speculated that the loss of nutrients in the refining process may also play a role. While the rice consumed by people in Asia is mostly white they mentioned 2 studies in which brown rice was substituted for white rice for 16 weeks. They saw lower insulin and glucose levels in Korean men but were unable to duplicate the results with Chinese men. The data is quite interesting, but the association has not been proven. A prospective study in which all elements of the diet are the same for everybody with the amount of white rice served being the only variable would be needed. Only by studying this controlled population over time and seeing who develops diabetes can we know for certain that the correlation noted in this medscape analysis of a number of studies, proves causation. In the meantime, control your portions, think about substituting brown rice for white rice, and continue to exercise and control your weight.
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