White Rice Increases Risk Of Diabetes, But Here’s Why That Wasn’t Always Like That

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White rice is the main food for almost half the world’s population. It’s a crucial part of many diets around the globe. However, new research shows that eating a lot of white rice may raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. This is especially true in Asian countries, where rice is a staple food.

What’s even more interesting is that this link between diabetes and white rice wasn’t always so strong—especially considering a country like China had one of the lowest diabetes rates in 2000 and before. So, what changed? Did they just start eating more white rice or is there something else we should know?

The Link Between White Rice and Diabetes

A big study looked at 350,000 people over 20 years. The study found that eating more white rice was linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. For every serving of white rice eaten per day, the risk of diabetes went up by 11% (source).

This might explain why countries like China and Japan have high rates of diabetes, even though they have lower obesity rates compared to Western countries. China has a diabetes rate of about 9.7% (up from only 4.7% in the year 2000! (source)), which is close to the 11% rate in the United States. Japan has even less obesity but might have more new diabetes cases than the U.S.

Changing Diets in China

However, white rice consumption doesn’t explain why the increase in diabetes in countries like China and Japan is only a recent event. What changed?

Looking at the changes in China’s diet over the past 20 years helps explain the rise in diabetes. In 2000, China had one of the lowest diabetes rates in the world. By 2020, the rate had jumped to 9.7%.

During this time, people in China started eating more oil (up by 20%) and pork (up by 40%), while eating less rice (down by 30%) (source). These changes suggest that diabetes increased because people ate more animal products and processed foods. It was not just from eating rice.

The Role of Animal Protein

Studies in Japan and China still show a strong link between white rice and diabetes, even with more meat consumption. This might be because animal protein mixed with high glycemic foods like white rice makes the body produce more insulin. This extra insulin might raise the risk of diabetes.

For example, eating mashed potatoes alone raises insulin. But, adding tuna (which has no carbs) makes insulin spike even higher. You can see the results of this happen in the image below, potato with animal protein (in this case, the tuna) has a 50% higher insulin spike than potato without animal protein. The same happens with white flour spaghetti and glucose tests with added meat.

So, What Can You Do For Your Own Health?

Eating the right kind of carbohydrates is very important. Whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat bread are better for lowering diabetes risk than processed grains like white rice. Below, I’ve made a list of the rice variants that increase the risk of diabetes the least. Black rice is the best for managing blood sugar levels and it goes down from there.

• Black rice: High in fiber, protein, and antioxidants, which help in managing blood sugar levels.
• Red rice: Rich in fiber and beneficial compounds, aiding in better blood sugar control.
• Wild rice: High in fiber and protein, not technically a true rice but nutritionally superior in terms of blood sugar management.
• Brown rice: Contains more fiber than white rice, slowing down sugar absorption.
• Jasmine brown rice: Lower GI compared to white jasmine rice, with added fiber benefits.
• Basmati rice (Brown): Lower GI than regular white rice varieties, especially the brown version.
• Long-grain rice (Brown): Generally lower GI compared to short-grain varieties, with added fiber.

Surprisingly, white rice doesn’t seem to increase the risk of heart attacks or strokes, which is a bit comforting. However, for better health, it’s good to choose foods that lower the risk of major diseases, not just ones that don’t cause harm.

Conclusion

The evidence shows that eating a lot of white rice can raise diabetes risk, especially when combined with animal protein. To reduce the growing diabetes problem, especially in Asian countries, it’s important to eat less processed food and animal products, and more whole grains and plant-based foods. These changes can help lower the risks linked to the unhealthy Western diet and improve overall health.

Stefan K.

Stefan has been vegan since 2019 and has been regularly working on his strength since the beginning of 2023. He’s on a mission to help other vegans get stronger and have all of them achieve the quality of life they deserve.