MJoTA.org

White rice and white bread. SJ Dodgson. MJoTA 2012 v5n1 p0602

The way America works is that when someone has done something clever, this something is broadcast because others have figured that it can make money for them. Sometimes the something that is clever is hard to find, so something that is not clever is broadcast because it can make money for others.

This process was displayed dramatically in May 2012 with stories flying around saying that white rice is not good for you, in fact, bad for you, in fact could kill you. These pronouncements are irresponsible, because a great percentage of the world's population has white rice as their main food. The major rice-eaters are in the continent of Asia, but also in Africa. Sierra Leoneans eat rice with every meal if they can.

I remember a truck ride from Kenema to Pendembu that lasted about 5 hours, sitting next to Auntie Safira. I was sharing crackers and bananas and peanuts and white bread and cheese, and she was eating with me. Towards the end of the trip she said she had not eaten anything all day. I looked startled and asked her what she meant. She said she had not eaten any rice. Only meals with rice count.

So what do the scientists who study the effects of eating white rice on the body say? Click on the abstracts right to read for yourself.

Summarizing all 5 abstracts, a lot of white rice is bad for you because you are eating too much and when you eat too much and your genes are ready for diabetes, you will get diabetes. And if you have already the symptoms of diabetes, too much white rice is really bad for you. And likely, so is too much brown rice.

White rice is not the problem. Eating too much and not moving: these are the problems. For diabetes resources, click here. For constantly updated news about diabetes prevention and treatment, click here.

A higher ratio of beans to white rice is associated with lower cardiometabolic risk factors in Costa Rican adults. Mattei et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Sep;94(3):869-76. Epub 2011 Aug 3. Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Increasing the ratio of beans to white rice, or limiting the intake of white rice by substituting beans, may lower cardiometabolic risk factors. For more click here.

White rice-based food consumption and ischemic stroke risk: a case-control study in southern China Liang et al. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2010 Nov-Dec;19(6):480-4. School of Public Health and National Drug Research Institute, Curtin Univ Technology, Perth, WA, Australia.....The results provide evidence of a positive association between habitual rice food consumption and the risk of ischemic stroke in Chinese adults. For more click here.

White bread is an interesting story. I enjoyed watching vendors of white bread in Lagos which were all over Ikeja and Apapa and Surulere. Which has a lot of poverty intermingled with universities and film studios and small factories and giovernment offices. In Victoria Island, in Ikoyi and Banana Island, I didn't see the bread vendors. For story, click here.

White bread is the same as white rice, if you eat too much, your blood sugar and cholesterol will go through the roof. A little, especially with vinegar, see right, is probably good for you.

And what is white bread anyway? So many different types, and scientists have reported that even freezing and toasting alters its ability to mess us your blood sugars.

If you want to be safe always: eat a little white bread and make sure your bread is sourdough or rye. But a little white bread is probably not dangerous. If your blood sugars are high and you eat white bread every day, eat less every day and substitute a carrot or a banana whenever you can.

Constantly updated stories on diabetes prevention and treatment click here.

Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects. Ostman et al. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Sep;59(9):983-8. Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Department of Food Technology, Engineering and Nutrition, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. The results indicate an interesting potential of fermented and pickled products containing acetic acid... For more, click here.

Postprandial differences in the plasma metabolome of healthy Finnish subjects after intake of a sourdough fermented endosperm rye bread versus white wheat bread. Bondia-Pons et al. Nutr J. 2011 Oct 19;10:116. Dept of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition, Food and Health Research Centre, Univ Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.  A single meal of a low fibre sourdough rye bread .... (maybe) beneficial for health. For more, click here.

Postprandial glycemia, insulinemia, and satiety responses in healthy subjects after whole grain rye bread made from different rye varieties. 2. Rosén et al. J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Nov 23;59(22):12149-54. Epub 2011 Oct 31. Div Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Dept Food Technology, Engineering and Nutrition, Lund Univ, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden. The results suggest that there may be differences in the course of glycemia following different rye varieties, affecting postprandial insulin responses and subjective satiety. For more click here.

The impact of freezing and toasting on the glycaemic response of white bread. Burton P, Lightowler HJ. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;62(5):594-9. Epub 2007 Apr 4. Nutrition and Food Science Group, Sch Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes Univ, Gipsy Lane Campus, Headington, Oxford, UK..... freezing and defrosting, toasting from fresh, and toasting following freezing and defrosting, favourably altered the glucose response of the breads. For more click here.