White Rice Raises Blood Sugar Levels? Regular Consumption Could Cause Diabetes, Harvard Experts Claim

Harvard Medical School experts claim that white rice could increase your blood sugar levels. They said that its effect is the same as eating pure table sugar.

If this is true, it will be a huge problem since more than half of the world's population relies on rice as a staple food. Yahoo News reported that around 480 million metric tons were produced globally way back in 2018.

What's alarming about the issue is that white rice is more common than brown rice, which is its healthier version. White rice is widely consumed by many people, especially in an Asian country since it can be transported easier and has a longer shelf life.

How white rice increases blood sugar levels

Harvard medical experts explained that the issue with white rice is caused by how the body processes it. However, white rice is still a healthy staple food.

White rice is actually the same as brown rice. It only becomes white in color once it is polished, and its germ and bran are removed. This process also makes the white rice easier to cook and gives the food a longer shelf

However, getting rid of bran and germ still has negative side effects. Once you do it, important nutrients are also removed. These include calcium, phosphorus, vitamins B1 and B3, fat, magnesium, and more.

How to remove white rice's arsenic?

It seems like white rice also has another negative side effect as researchers from the University of Sheffield claimed that staple food has cancer-causing arsenic.

To help people avoid getting cancer from white rice, the school's Institue for Sustainable Food's team discovered the PBA or "Parboiling With Absorption Method." This cooking method allows you to remove the harmful arsenic while maintaining the good nutrients in white rice.

Study Finds' latest report explained that PBA requires you to parboil the rice in pre-boiled water within five minutes. After five minutes, all you need to do is drain the water and replace it with fresh water. Once the rice is in freshwater, you can now cook it normally at a lower heat until the water boils.

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon