Glycemic index and diabetes

[Guest guest]

OK, now I know someone is going to point out that this article is

anti-fat, but ignore that point for a moment ... what they are saying

is that the traditional high-rice diet didn't cause diabetes, while the

lower-rice " modern " diet does. If their statistics are accurate,

then that says a couple of things:

1. T2 diabetes is not a simple issue of high-glycemic foods.

2. The reason Asians don't get diabetic from high-glycemic

rice ISN'T adaptive/genetic ... they can't handle the SAD either.

Personlly I don't think the culprit is meat/fat (as per the

article) but is likely gluten, which is now getting into the Korean

diet. The " Western diet " is different from most of the others

in the world mainly because it is wheat-based (Korean noodles, for instance

used to be mainly buckwheat, rice and yam, now they are getting

wheat noodles -- I've been watching the change at my local

Korean grocery ...).

-- Heidi

Rice-Based Diet Effective for Preventing Adult Diseases

By Soh Ji-young

Staff Reporter

The drop in rice consumption is making Koreans more overweight and vulnerable to

various adult diseases, a research institute said on Wednesday.

In a study conducted by the Research Institute for Healthcare Policy under the

Korean Medical Association, Korea’s traditional rice-based diet was found to be

very effective in preventing diabetes and heart ailments common in Western

countries.

The research results, released in a seminar at the Korea Press Center in Seoul,

was based on a four-month joint research project analyzing Koreans’ diet and

health. Yoo Tai-woo, professor of Seoul National University’s college of

medicine, and seven other local researchers took part in the project.

According to the study, a rice-based diet protects people’s health by blocking

the body from excessive calories and animal fat and by offering a balanced diet.

As Koreans’ eating habits become increasingly westernized, a growing number of

people are overweight and suffering from heart attacks, researchers said.

``Korea’s traditional diet based on rice and kimchi has been effective in

preventing people from acquiring diseases such as diabetes and heart

illnesses,’’ Yoo said.

``But as people eat more high-fat and high-calorie foods such as fast foods,

Western dishes and meats, cases of adult illnesses among the public is on a

steady rise,’’ he said.

Over the past few decades, Korean’s consumption of rice, the staple food of the

Korean diet, has recorded a marked decline, pushing local governments and

farming organizations to launch public campaigns to eat more rice.

According to statistics provided by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the

daily supply of rice per capita fell from 351.1 grams in 1986 to 249.48 grams in

2002, a drop of nearly 30 percent.

But during the same period, per capita supply of meat more than doubled to

107.43 grams from 47 grams, with the supply of flour also increasing to 94.9

grams from 86.3 grams.

The percentage rice took up as an energy source of the total diet also fell to

31 percent in 2002 from the 48.9 percent in 1986.

Researchers emphasized that to maintain a better diet, people should consume

more rice, water and fruits and refrain from eating too salty or partially-burnt

foods, which are linked to stomach cancer. Skipping meals, excessively drinking

and dining out should also be avoided.

``In the case of women, more than half suffer from osteoporosis due to lack of

calcium in their diet,’’ Yoo said, adding that they should drink plenty of milk.

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02-18-2004 18:59