Indians are more prone to diabetes and heart disease due to their peculiar body habitus.
A lot of studies in the past have reiterated that Asians are very prone to diseases like diabetes. However, a study from the Harvard School of Public Health that was published in the British Medical Journal recently has claimed that eating rice is more dangerous from diabetics than consuming sugar.
It further added that each plate of white rice eaten in a day, regularly- ups the risk of diabetes by a whopping 11 per cent among Asians. In fact, it says that starchy white rice can increase the blood sugar too!
Dr Fred Williams, Consultant – Endocrinology, Columbia Asia Hospital Whitefield said, ‘It was a meta-analysis of 4 different studies. The conclusion was that consumption of rice was associated with increased risk – 1 serving regularly equated to about 11 % increase in risk. Cutting down rice intake is definitely advisable. However, it is more important to have a balanced meal. Problem with typical Asian meals is that it is very high on carbohydrates. So proportion of carbohydrates should be restricted in the meal and the type of carbohydrate consumed should have low glycaemic index (ie whole grains rather than polished white rice).’
Indians are more prone to develop diabetes and heart disease due their peculiar body habitus, known as the ‘THIN FAT INDIAN’. That means, even at low BMI of 21-24, they have all the fat stored in abdomen, which is the most harmful fat; thus is ‘white fat’ which has less Mitochondria (the power house of the cell). The healthy fat is ‘brown fat’, which is full of Mitochondria, seen in healthy babies. This excess white fat in the abdomen loads our liver with free fatty acids and increases our risk of getting diabetes and coronary heart disease.Dr Anil Bhoraskar, Senior Diabetologist, SL. Raheja Hospital, said, ‘Our diet is ‘Carbocentric’, meaning there we take too much Carbohydrates that loads our liver with harmful fuels, wrong fatty acids in the cooking medium containing high amount of omega-6 fats, which also contribute to these diseases. Lack of physical activity and too much screen time also causes childhood obesity, which predisposes one to these diseases. Too much fast food and energy dense drinks, have contributed to this epidemic in India’.
‘This is very true. We Asians carry a genetic code to being predisposed to obesity/diabetes than Caucasians. Also, its not just the white starchy rice, it is everything right from processed flour to sugar – everything refined due to westernized lifestyles- increases blood sugar which further increases insulin response,’ says Mihira Khopkar, Sports & Clinical Nutritionist and Founder of MARK.
Over a period of time, the pancreas become exhausted with continued release of insulin and start producing lesser than required- at the same time, the cells also start forming a resistance to the insulin due to continued high sugars. If such lifestyle continues, along with genetic risk of diabetes- diabetes and its complications are not far!
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