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THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI *

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2019 TIMES NATION

Study Of Popular Rice Brands By Scientists Shows Health Claims May Not Be True
Ho
WHAT LIES IN YOUR RICE? he
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Kamini.Mathai@timesgroup.com
Turns

T
he premium priced and packaged
brown rice from the supermarket
may in reality be whiter and more
FSSAI REGULATIONS STATE THAT A PACKET OF RICE HAS TO HAVE A
TRANSPARENT PORTION SO THAT THE GRAINS ARE VISIBLE
For B
polished than ever, and the so-called
‘diabetic friendly’ variety, nothing In case of brown rice, the grain needs to look glossy and
not have scratches on its surface
Lik
more than parboiled white rice. Armed with a
BROWN RICE V.Naray
stereo-zoom microscope, food scientists from The germ is visible as a slight indent in the grain. If there
Madras Diabetic Research Foundation (MDRF) is any abrasion, it will result in the grain absorbing more Actual contents | Parboiled
Mumba
decided to put 15 types of supermarket ‘healthy’ water, which increases starchiness
Claims | GI of 8.6, rich in fibre be cheer
rice grains to the test. What they found was that
in many cases there wasn’t a grain of truth in cants,
Observations | No scientific evidence for low GI;
the claims mentioned on the packets. WHAT IS GLYCEMIC INDEX? disruption in germ and bran layer
Complex
“With more diabetic patients approaching us GI is a relative ranking of carbohydrate in ed a patr
with newer varieties of rice that claim to be zero foods according to how they affect blood side the U
glucose levels. A value of less than 55 is unofficia
cholesterol and sugar-free we decided to examine QUICK COOKING
considered low, 44-69 is medium, while 70 applican
15 of the popular ones,” says MDRF food and nutri-
and above is high GI
BROWN BASMATI RICE phones,
tion research scientist Sudha Vasudevan, one of Actual contents | Parboiled
the co-authors of the study recently published in Eating low GI foods is supposed to help items ba
long grain brown basmati
the Journal of Diabetology. reduce blood sugar, lowering risks of ises for R
Claims | Zero cholesterol
The biggest shocker was a brown rice brand that heart disease and type 2 diabetes “Earl
Observations | Quick cooking rice the consu
proclaimed an 8.6 glycemic index (GI), a value Vas- Pulses, legumes and vegetables generally elicits high GI. Claims like would d
udevan says has never been reported as per the are low GI, whole grains have zero cholesterol may be misleading as headpho
international GI table (the lowest GI of rice is medium GI, while refined grains no plant-based food has direct vices, wa
around 40). GI is a relative ranking of carbohydrate and some ragi products are cholesterol, but in excess they can cause banned
in foods according to how they affect blood glucose classified as high GI triglyceride and cholesterol levels to go up compoun
levels. A GI value of less than 55 is considered low,
while 70 and above is high. pay Rs
“On examination the rice was found to be par- RED RICE RICH IN FIBRE HAND POUNDED RICE drivers t
boiled brown rice. There were fissures on the longings
Actual contents | Actual contents |
surface and a mild disruption of the bran and said. A se
Unpolished red rice Parboiled
germ layers,” says US Consu
Claims | Controls blood sugar, brown rice
CHECK BEFORE MDRF food sci- low GI Claims |
provided
proving v
YOU PURCHASE entist Sho-
bana Shan- Observations | Diabetic sa applic
mugam, also Fibre content is friendly, coming f
a co-author. Fissures and a disrupted compromised rich in
bran and germ layer, she says, make the as the germ dietary
fibre
rice mushy when cooked as more water is
absorbed by the grain, intensifying its
and bran are
disrupted and protein
kernels
Left
starchiness. This in turn increases the GI.
What one needs to understand, says Vasude-
van, is that all brown rice may not be low GI. “The
GI value,
nutritional information Observations | Brown
rice is nutritionally better than
pane
not declared
other misconception is that hand-pounded rice
is healthy, but findings show it has a GI similar
hand pounded rice. No
information on GI and up to
to polished white rice because of the abrasions nutritional information
on the grains,” she says. Vasudevan explains that
bran is rich in fat and tough to cook to a soft con-
mon
sistency, so Indians tend to cook it longer. “Indians  Contin
add a lot of water to brown rice and that breaks

A
the bran layer.” MDRF recommends brown rice s m
to be cooked with a 1:1.5 cup water ratio as op- ceiv
posed to the usual 1:3. Tue
Minimally polished rice also have a high GI, chan Mu
says Vasudevan. “Parboiled rice is also polished been den
and therefore not that healthy. Parboiling is done of wages
to increase vitamin B and for a longer shelf life, months.
but it removes the germ and bran layer, resulting nied it wa
in higher GI.” DIABETIC RICE “Thos
The other tall claims, says Shanmugam, were Actual contents | or four
sugar free and zero cholesterol options. “No plant- Polished white rice amount a
based food has direct cholesterol, but in excess decided
Claims | Low GI, rich in protein,
they can cause triglyceride and cholesterol levels amounts
dietary fibre, iron, vitamin B1
to go up.” As for sugar-free rice, she says, the those who
and has zero cholesterol
starch in rice is converted to glucose on digestion, astretch.
so in effect there cannot be sugar-free rice. Observations | Starch in rice is to the big
“The key is to not get carried away by labels. converted to glucose on digestion, then wi
And to remember that rice needs to be eaten in so there cannot be sugar-free rice amount
moderation,” says Vasudevan. among th
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