White rice cleared of 'causing diabetes'

Type 2 diabetes is a dangerous disease, progresses silently and is the disease with the most terrible increase of up to 300%.

According to Dr. Nguyen Khanh Hoa - a Vietnamese doctor living and researching in Canada, although there have been many studies on the pathogenesis of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, modern medicine has not yet identified the exact cause of the disease or a definitive treatment.

Type 2 diabetes, the disease progresses quite silently, starting when the body's cells such as fat cells, liver cells, and muscle cells reduce their response to insulin, causing the pancreas to increase insulin secretion to compensate.

Many people think that eating white rice can easily cause diabetes and saying no to rice is a misconception.

Doctor Hoa said that white rice has had all the husks removed so it has more starch. White rice contains high energy so people think it is the culprit causing diabetes but in fact the cause of diabetes is being overweight, eating too much energy, and reducing exercise.

White rice eaten in moderation, enough for the body will not cause diabetes.

If rice causes diabetes, Dr. Hoa said that people in rural areas eat 3-4 times more white rice than people living in urban areas, but the rate of diabetes among farmers is low, only 1-2%, while diabetes in urban areas is up to 10%.

White rice (4 calories/1g) is a food with a high energy index, even higher than French bread (3 calories/1g). Diabetes is related to the imbalance between the amount of energy absorbed into the body and the amount of energy consumed by the body, so eating a lot of white rice increases the risk of excess energy. Eating white rice and being lazy will lead to excess energy and a higher risk of diabetes, not the rice itself causing diabetes.

Dr. Hoa said that the most important thing is to exercise to prevent excess energy and fat accumulation, which causes disorders and reduces the cells' ability to absorb sugar molecules, forcing the endocrine pancreas to work harder and secrete more insulin to help sugar molecules penetrate the cells.

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or its onset can be delayed; by maintaining an ideal weight and increasing physical activity - Studies from Finland, the United States, China... and even in Vietnam have confirmed this.

According to Infonet