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The Institute of Nutrition, together with Kasetsart University, bred rice and found that “Pin Kaset +4 #20A09” gives the lowest sugar after eating, helping diabetic patients control blood sugar and overweight people lose weight, and giving a longer-lasting feeling of fullness. It aims to promote eating among Thais, and recommends eating new rice varieties and native rice high in antioxidants. Studies abroad found that eating rice with “chopsticks” and chewing and swallowing quickly gives lower blood sugar levels than using a spoon or the hands.
Today (6 Nov), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ratchanee Kongkachuichai, Director of the Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, gave a press briefing on “Eating native rice and bred rice varieties helps control diabetes and weight”, saying that in 2014 about 387 million people worldwide were at risk of diabetes, and by 2035 the at-risk population in Southeast Asia is expected to rise by 71%. The Institute therefore worked with Kasetsart University to develop rice varieties with a low glycemic index, meaning less sugar is released after digestion, to help control diabetes and weight. Initially, about 20–30 rice lines were selected and tested to see which gives a low glycemic index. “Pin Kaset +4 #20A09”, named after its breeding code, was found to have the lowest glycemic index. This rice was then polished and made into fried rice and tested in 15 untreated diabetic patients, taking no medication or supplements, compared with a rice line with a high glycemic index in the same amount, 110 grams, with equal energy and nutrients.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ratchanee said that the tests found that volunteers who ate the low-glycemic-index rice had lower blood glucose levels and a better insulin hormone response, while the level of hormones that stimulate appetite tended to be lower. In addition, low-glycemic-index rice can increase the level of hormones that affect the functioning of the pancreatic beta cells, stimulating better insulin production and affecting the control of the satiety and hunger centers, so patients who ate low-glycemic-index rice felt full for longer, because the food stays longer in the intestine, and it helps lower blood sugar. This rice line is not yet produced for commercial sale, but it is believed that eating it will be promoted more in the future. If Thais are not interested in eating it because the rice is hard, it could be exported to Middle Eastern countries that like to eat hard rice.
“The low-glycemic-index rice that the Institute developed with Kasetsart University is suitable for promotion to people who want to control their weight and patients who want to control blood sugar, because it has a low glycemic index and a better insulin response, so that when eaten it releases little sugar when digested. Combined with better insulin function, insulin takes sugar into the cells better and turns it into energy for the body, so blood sugar will be low. But with rice that releases a lot of sugar when digested, if insulin cannot grab it, the sugar floats in the blood, so blood sugar is high and one feels hungry often,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ratchanee said.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ratchanee said that new rice varieties and native rice, such as Riceberry, Nin Sawan rice and deep-purple red jasmine rice, are high in antioxidants, such as vitamin E, anthocyanin and polyphenols, with antioxidant capacity higher than ordinary rice varieties, suitable for health-conscious people, people who want to lose weight and diabetic patients. But they should be eaten as brown rice, because polishing loses a large amount of beneficial nutrients. For diabetic patients with kidney failure, brown rice is not suitable because it is high in phosphorus and calcium, but they can eat low-glycemic-index rice, even when polished white.
“Studies from abroad also found that the behavior of eating rice with chopsticks, a spoon or the hands affects the blood glucose response. Chopsticks give the smallest blood sugar response, because eating with chopsticks takes in less rice at a time; chewing and swallowing the rice and eating quickly means sugar from the starch takes longer to digest, so blood glucose rises more slowly. But chewing for a long time causes a higher glucose response,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ratchanee said.
Source: http://www.manager.co.th/QOL/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9580000123844
