Hagaon Hacham Mordechai Eliyahu z.s.l.

By: Dave Gordon

Eating more brown rice and cutting back on white rice may reduce the risk of diabetes, a new study in Archives of Internal Medicine reveals. White rice is produced by removing the husk-like outer layers which remain on brown rice. Those discarded layers contain nutrients like magnesium and fiber that guard against diabetes. Additionally, white rice is digested faster, which researchers say is a contributing factor in the body’s absorbing more of its complex sugars. Diabetics require insulin to regulate the body’s sugar levels. According to the study, those who ate five servings or more of white rice per week had a 17 percent increased risk of developing diabetes compared to those who ate little or no white rice. People who ate at least two servings of brown rice had an 11 percent lower risk of diabetes. Researchers caution however, that the study could be more correlative than causative – meaning, those who are generally healthier eat brown rice.