One bowl, two cans
A bowl of rice has more than twice the carbohydrate content of a can of sweetened drink,
eliciting a higher blood glucose response.
Blood glucose levels (millimole per litre)
9
8.5
8
7.5 A bowl
of rice
7
6.5
6
5.5
A can of
sweetened
drink
5
4.5
4
3.5
0
15
30
45
60
75
90
Time (minutes after consumption)
105
120
Asians’ carbohydrate intake as a proportion of calories consumed is higher than in the West. Much of this is refined
carbohydrates. This explains the higher prevalence of diabetes across Asia. Most of the refined carbohydrates we
consume is contributed by starchy staples such as rice and noodles.
What’s in your bowl
Food
Higher risk
Glycaemic
Index
White rice short grain
Noodle
White rice long grain
(Jasmine)
Red rice long grain **
Brown rice (short grain) White bread
Whole grain/meal bread *
Nasi lemak (rice only)
Chicken rice (rice only)
Brown rice (long grain) Basmati white rice
Soda drink
Red unpolished basmati
rice
Fruit juice
98
82
78
78
76
75
53-70
69
67
65
64
63
55
At the same body mass index (BMI)*, there is a much higher prevalence of
Type 2 diabetes sufferers among Asians compared to Europeans.
Asian Indian
Diabetes prevalence (%)
Chinese
Japanese
Europeans
30
25
Men
Women
20
15
10
50
NOTES:
* Varies with amount of wholegrain or
wholemeal in bread.
**Has more fibre and phytochemicals than
white jasmine rice.
Glycemic index (GI) measures how food raises
the glucose level in blood. The higher the
index, the more blood sugar is produced.
Generally, food that breaks down faster has
higher GI than food that takes longer to
digest. A GI of 70 or more is considered high,
while a GI of 55 or less is considered low and
better.
5
0
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
BMI
• An Indian woman with healthy weight (BMI below 20)
has a similar risk of diabetes as a European woman
who is obese (BMI more than 30).
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
BMI
• A Chinese woman with healthy weight (BMI below 20)
has a similar risk of diabetes as a European woman
who is overweight (BMI more than 25).
NOTE: *BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres.
What you can do
Replacing 20 per cent of your white rice with
brown rice lowers your risk of diabetes by
16 per cent
Tip: Soak the brown rice in water for at
least 15 minutes before cooking with the
white rice.
A 15-minute walk
(2,000 steps) every day
can cut your risk of death
from diabetes by
4 per cent
SOURCES:
ACCREDITED
GLYCEMIC INDEX
RESEARCH UNIT AT
TEMASEK POLYTECHNIC,
HEALTH PROMOTION BOARD
PHOTOS: LIM SIN THAI,
ISTOCKPHOTOS
STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS