Glycemic Index in Rice

Diabetes is a disorder of the body's control of blood sugar levels. Diabetic patients with poor “sugar control” develop complications that, although not immediately fatal, lower quality of life. People with diabetes are 2–4 times more likely than normal people to get coronary artery disease and 5 times more likely to have paralysis.

Diabetes can be prevented by eating appropriately: reduce starchy and fatty foods such as coconut milk and fried food, eat more vegetables and fruits that are not very sweet, exercise regularly and do not let yourself become obese. If there are abnormal symptoms such as frequent urination, thirst or heavy eating, weakness and fatigue, or ants gathering at the urine, see a doctor promptly. 

Current treatment recommends proactive treatment, that is, keeping blood sugar levels both before and after meals close to the normal range, and also emphasizing care and treatment of other conditions such as high blood pressure and high blood fat to reduce risk factors for complications.

Diabetes situation in Thailand According to surveys, 3.2 million Thais are currently ill with diabetes, with 1 in 10 adults aged 35 and over having diabetes. Only 400,000 patients control their diabetes well, while the rest cannot control it, leading to complications such as kidney failure, heart disease, blindness or amputation. Surveys also found about 2 million people with abnormally high blood sugar, a group at risk of diabetes.

How is rice related to blood sugar? The main food group that gives energy to Thais is the carbohydrate group, namely rice, rice products, various flours, snacks and fruit, as well as sugar. Rice provides more than 60 percent of all the energy obtained from food. For the body to use carbohydrate, it must first be digested into sugar. If the carbohydrate is digested quickly, sugar is obtained quickly, and for cells to use sugar well as energy they depend on the hormone insulin produced by the pancreas. So if blood sugar rises quickly, the pancreas must produce insulin quickly, and if blood sugar rises higher, more insulin must be used in proportion, making the pancreas work harder. Constantly high blood sugar is therefore something to avoid, especially for people with diabetes, because their pancreas does not work as well as it should.

Glycemic index Because carbohydrate foods are an important factor that raises blood sugar levels after meals, the choice of type and amount of carbohydrate is important for balancing blood sugar and better controlling diabetes. The glycemic index (GI) has been used as an index measuring the quality of carbohydrate in food. The glycemic index is measured by having people eat food containing 50 grams of the carbohydrate being studied, then tracking how the digested and absorbed carbohydrate raises blood sugar over 2 hours. Glucose has a glycemic index of 100. When eating food with a high glycemic index, blood sugar rises higher and faster than with food with a low glycemic index. 

Glycemic index values of new Thai rice varieties The rice studied was 2 high-iron varieties, namely Sinlek andRiceberry  using both brown rice and polished rice, made into breakfast meals for 16 patients with type 2 diabetes and high blood fat. Patients ate each type of rice with a side dish, stir-fried chicken with holy basil, and blood samples were collected at various times over 4 hours under close supervision by researchers from Ramathibodi Hospital. Both brown rice varieties had lower glycemic indices than polished rice of the same variety, because the dietary fiber in the bran helps slow sugar absorption, making blood sugar rise more slowly. Besides having more dietary fiber than polished rice, brown rice also has more vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin B1, or thiamine, which helps prevent beriberi. 

Long-term study of eating low-glycemic-index rice The effect of eating a low-glycemic-index diet, emphasizing eating the brown rice variety Sinlek  2 meals a day, on blood sugar and risk factors for heart disease in type 2 diabetic patients was studied, with the goal of letting patients control blood sugar better, reducing the burden on the pancreas of producing more insulin, and reducing inflammatory mechanisms in the blood from oxidation.

Expected benefits   Helps build patients' health in the long term, helps delay complications so they occur more slowly, increasing patients' quality of life.

Study results          From preliminary data comparing results between eating brown rice and polished rice together with correctly adjusting other eating habits for 8 weeks

Rice products A new option for diabetic patients arising from the discovery of the 2 low-glycemic-index rice varieties above. It was also found that within the same variety, brown rice has a lower glycemic index than polished rice, leading to the conclusion that important factors in the bran lower the glycemic index, and so the idea of developing rice bran into pills arose, to be taken with daily meals instead of eating brown rice. 

To meet this objective, rice bran was therefore turned into capsules and herbal-style pills (luk klon). Making luk klon pills was found to have several advantages, because it can pack in more bran density than filling capsules. In addition, luk klon pills break down in the stomach better than compressed tablets. Thailand has now developed pill production techniques to meet standards and be germ-free. Compressing luk klon pills therefore seems the most suitable method for very-low-glycemic-index rice bran.

Recommendation  Thais should be encouraged to eat brown rice more often, because it has a lower glycemic index and more antioxidants than polished rice, especially the new brown rice varieties Riceberry and  Sinlek which have a low glycemic index and high antioxidants, for good long-term health.

In cooperation with - the Research Office, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Phaya Thai, Bangkok - Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok Noi, Bangkok - Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, Salaya Subdistrict, Phutthamonthon District, Nakhon Pathom - Supported by a research grant for socio-economic development through science and technology from the National Research Council of Thailand