Eat White Rice This Way to Keep Blood Sugar and Diabetes in Check

There is a lot of literature about what foods to avoid to reduce your risk of developing diabetes. Even the staple food of most Asian people, white rice, has been criticized for its link to diabetes. Hung Chien-te, a specialist in metabolism in Taiwan who eats white rice at every meal, shared how to manage diabetes with proper eating habits.

Mr. Hung said that as children born during World War II were affected by maternal malnutrition, they had fewer pancreatic islet cells in their bodies and were more likely to develop insulin resistance. As they grew up and gradually increased their intake of sweet foods, they were more likely to develop diabetes. Mr. Hung discovered that his parents were also prone to diabetes for the same reason, while the consumption of oil, sugar, and processed foods also played a key role.

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‘Dust Explosions’ and Blood Sugar Fluctuation

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Blood sugar will rise after the food is digested and turned into glucose. Insulin is responsible for transporting blood sugar to the muscles and cells and converting it into nutrients. However, when blood sugar remains continuously high, the body becomes insensitive to insulin, resulting in insulin resistance. Or it may evolve into diabetes with pancreatic islet failure due to exhaustion of insulin cells.

Mr. Hung believes that “dust explosions” and wide-ranging blood sugar fluctuations are the two main factors that cause blood sugar to spike. Dust explosion refers to starch and grain foods in finely ground powder form or processed foods with added free sugars and oligosaccharides. Due to their small molecule size, the body quickly absorbs them before insulin has time to react, resulting in a blood sugar spike. Moreover, there is already a lot of unutilized insulin in people suffering from insulin resistance. Dust explosions will make the body release more insulin, resulting in a sudden drop in blood sugar levels. As a result, sometimes these people will experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level), such as trembling, sweating, and physical discomfort. It may even make them more susceptible to cardiovascular disease.

Mr. Hung said that reducing blood sugar fluctuation can successfully alleviate diabetes. Remission, in this case, means the glycated hemoglobin is below 5.6 percent. At this point, all diabetes medications can be suspended.

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The Myth About White Rice

Blood sugar fluctuation is closely related to what we eat daily. This leads to rice being the first under scrutiny. Many people believe white rice is a refined food and should be avoided by diabetics. However, Mr. Hung dispelled the following three myths about white rice:

1. Eating White Rice Will Not Cause Particularly High Blood Sugar

Mr. Hung discovered that brown and white rice have similar effects in causing blood sugar fluctuations, and sometimes brown rice causes more fluctuations than white. In addition, although grain rice and whole-grain foods with intact hulls are more nutritious, they contain higher amounts of potassium and phosphorus, which may cause health concerns for those with poor kidney function.

2. What Order You Eat Food Matters

The order in which food is taken should start with protein (meat, fish, eggs, soy products), then vegetables, followed by rice and fruits. Try the first bite with protein, as this will not cause blood sugar to rise rapidly. When protein is broken down, amino acids will be produced, stimulating insulin secretion. It is best to wait at least 15 minutes before eating the rice.

Mr. Hung also recommends eating more assorted vegetables, increasing nutritional density while reducing caloric density. Fruits contain various trace elements, minerals, and phytochemicals, such as anthocyanins and lycopene, which all have antioxidant functions; however, fruits should always be eaten in moderation. Mr. Hung said that you can take at least two fewer insulin doses by following this way of eating.

3. Eat Only 3 Meals Daily

Smaller but more frequent meals can promote insulin resistance. It is best to allow the stomach and intestines time to fast, and blood sugar will drop naturally.

Mr. Hung said that eating like this has an added benefit. Many probiotics exist in nature. With airborne spores falling onto the rice, there is a good chance you’ll get more probiotics.

Are low-carb and ketogenic diets beneficial for diabetics? Mr. Hung explained that these diets all advocate that consuming oil or fats will not increase blood sugar, but the very chemical structure of oil is one glycerol and three carbon chains, and the three carbon chains are combined with fatty acids. Although fatty acids cannot be converted into glucose, glycerol can. Therefore, eating oil or fat will also cause an increase in blood sugar.