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Latest rice discovery could possibly be excellent news diabetics and rice lovers
Oct
Excellent news for many who cannot get enough of rice but are fearful about their sugar and carb intakes.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) announced they achieved a scientific milestone with the invention of the genes liable for low and ultra-low glycaemic index (GI) in rice.
With this finding, researchers can now convert popular rice varieties anywhere on the earth into low and ultra-low GI for refined white rice through conventional breeding starting within the Philippines, IRRI’s Interim Director General Ajay Kohli said.
The announcement was made through the 6th International Rice Congress in Manila on Monday (16 October), with the primary batch of ultra-low GI rice samples presented through the event.
The glycemic index is a scale that ranks foods from 0 to 100 to gauge their effect on blood-sugar levels. The lower the GI of a certain food, the less it could affect your blood sugar levels. Inversely, high GI foods may cause sugar levels to spike. As an illustration, pure sugar has a rating of 100.
High GI food increase the risks of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. This makes GI a great tool to assist those with diabetes, a chronic disease noted for sustained high blood sugar levels, manage their condition and make healthful decisions about their weight loss program and nutrition.
IRRI classifies glycaemic index levels below 45 as ultra-low and 46-55 as low GI.
In accordance with the WHO, diabetes was the direct reason behind 1.5 million deaths worldwide in 2019, of which 48 per cent occurred before the age of 70 years. The International Diabetes Federation put the variety of individuals with diabetes at 537 million in 2021, and the organization expects that one in every eight adults may have diabetes by 2045.
Rice is the various levels depending on the variability. White and sticky varieties are known for his or her high GI. Brown rice has a lower GI. But it’s also far more expensive.
IRRI classifies glycaemic index levels below 45 as ultra-low and 46-55 as low GI. Those above 70 are high GI. Most of the popular cultivated rice varieties have a GI starting from 70 to 92.
In accordance with IRRI, the newly discovered ultra-low line has a GI level of only 44. The breakthrough ultra-low GI rice was developed from the Samba Mahsuri x IR36ae varieties.
Expect them to prove within the Philippine market in a few years.”
Ajay Kohli, IRRI’s Interim Director General
Commenting on the event, Devinder Sharma, one in all India’s leading food security specialists, said: “There are tens of millions, especially within the Asia Pacific region, who’re forced to limit the urge to devour rice simply because they occur to be diabetic.
“With ultra-low GI rice, the liberty to devour rice will hopefully be restored.”
Nonetheless, Rodrigo Angelo Ong, chief research specialist on the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, cautioned that the breakthrough does not imply that buyers can now eat rice to their hearts’ content.
If people start eating more rice just due to the lower GI then it defeats the aim, he said.
“The identical rules still follow, same things we advocated before, proper proportioning of rice and moderate intake of carbohydrates,” Ong said.
Kohli emphasised that a number of current research on rice is just not nearly climate resiliency and improving productivity, but additionally healthier rice for consumers. These include the high-zinc rice variety released a few years ago and the still to be released gene modified golden rice which is engineered to have higher levels of beta-carotene (Vitamin A).
