White rice intake increases risk of Type II diabetes

Meta-analysis was done on 3,52,384 people 

 

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/medicine-and-research/white-rice-intake-increases-risk-of-type-ii-diabetes/article3001544.ece

Each serving of polished rice a day increases the risk of Type II diabetes by 11 per cent, according to a study being published today (Friday) in the British Medical Journal.

Polished rice is commonly called white rice, and one serving refers to nearly 160 grams. “Higher consumption of white rice is associated with a significantly increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, especially in Asian (China and Japan) populations,” wrote the authors from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.

The conclusion was based on a meta-analysis of 3,52,384 people who were followed up for four to 22 years. The participants were from China, Japan, the United States and Australia.

A “positive association” between white rice intake and increased risk of diabetes was found only in the case of the two Asian countries, where rice is a staple food. “This association seems to be stronger for Asians than for Western populations,” the authors said. Despite the not-so-strong association in Western countries, the researchers estimated that about 167 new cases of diabetes per 1,00,000 people would occur every year for “every additional serving of white rice a day.”

White rice primarily contains starch, as the polishing removes most of the nutrients found in the bran such as insoluble fibre, magnesium, vitamins, and lignans (a group of chemical compounds acting as antioxidants). Insoluble fibre and magnesium, for instance, have been found to lower the risk of Type II diabetes.

Double harm

Unlike brown rice, polished rice has a high glycaemic index (an indicator of glucose-raising effect of a food) and is a major contributor of dietary glycaemic load. Higher dietary glycaemic load is generally associated with the increased risk of diabetes. Hence, the harmful effects of polishing are two-pronged — it removes the nutrients that would cut the risk of diabetes and at the same time pushes up the glycaemic index, thus increasing the risk of the disease. 

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/medicine-and-research/white-rice-intake-increases-risk-of-type-ii-diabetes/article3001544.ece

Bajra (Kambu) - கம்பு

 

Jowar - சோளம்

 

Kodo Millet (Varagu) - வரகு

 

Little Millet (Saamai) - சாமை

 

Foxtail Millet (Thinai) - தினை

 

Organic Kavuni Black Rice

Organic Kavuni Black Rice 
Kavuni rice is a rare rice variety, which is very good for health. It contains anthocyanin which is a good antioxidant. Found in dark blue, red and purple foods, anthocyanin antioxidants show promise for fighting heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. This can be cooked after soaking in water for 30 minutes. Then sugar or jaggery along with coconut is added with the cooked black rice and can be eaten.

Extra link: http://www.vikatan.com/avalvikatan/Regular/28655-food-poision.html

Chekku ennai or cold-pressed oil makes a comeback

The humble 'chekku ennai' or cold-pressed oil makes a comeback, but at a premium price

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Food/pressing-matters/article4512318.ece

A friend, recently, was surprised to see a bottle of cold-pressed sesame oil on an organic store shelf. “It’s just old-fashioned chekku ennai!

When I was little, my sister and I used to bring back a brimming pail, from the chekku, for just Rs.5! But now, it costs more than refined oil!” After gently pointing out that, since she was pushing sixty, the Rs.5-a-pail was a very-long-time-ago, we decided to find out if cold-pressed oils, with their premium price tags (ranging, depending on the brand, from a small to a significant price differential over regular oils) are really worth the hype.

But first, a bit about cold-pressed oils.

Cold-pressing is the traditional method of extracting oil from seeds/fruits. The raw material (sesame/ peanut/ coconut/ sunflower seeds) is typically ground into a paste, and this is pressed with a heavy stone mill, turned by bullocks, until it expels the oil. This first-pressed oil, is sold unrefined, and without any additives.

Nutrients intact

“Cold-pressed oils have all their nutrients intact, retaining the natural properties of the oil-seeds, unlike refined oil,” says Chandra Padmanabhan, cookbook writer. “It’s a bit like atta and maida; the source is the same, but isn’t atta far superior to maida, nutritionally?” she asks. Nimmi Ittycheria John, nutritionist and diet consultant, says “refining degrades nutritional value, and more significantly, introduces harmful trans fats in an attempt to improve shelf life for commercial reasons”.

But, refined oils, produced on a large scale (the output for a commercial oil mill runs into tonnes, as opposed to a small chekku, whose daily output can be gathered in two tins!) and backed by vigorous media campaigns, had almost done away with traditionally extracted oils. Except, now, as with all things organic and natural, it’s increasingly becoming popular in urban homes.

“There is a lot of awareness now, on cold-pressed oils. I have customers coming from Vellore, to buy it. The supply though is limited; because, in a day, we can only extract two tins of oil from our chekku in Kallakurichi,” says M. N. Rajendran, owner, Annai Organic Foods. The low yield is because the oilseeds are not heated to increase the yield, and the oil that is expelled is cold and pure. Insisting on the importance of cold oils, Rajendran says that the oil extracted by large-scale mechanical presses comes out warm. “But cooking oil isn’t supposed to be pre-heated, isn’t it,” he asks.

“We Indians sadly only woke up to our age-old methods of oil extraction when the olive oil lobby began trumpeting terms such as ‘cold-pressed’ and ‘extra virgin,’” says Nimmi. Besides, sesame oil is in no way inferior to olive oil, says Chandra. “Both are mono-unsaturated oils, and cold-pressed sesame oil has similar health benefits. So there’s no pressing need to substitute imported olive oil in our recipes and compromise on the taste of South Indian food,” she reasons. “Cold-pressed sesame oil smells and tastes especially good,” says Rajendran. “When commercially manufactured, molasses is added to the oil, to mask its natural bitterness; but in a chekku, we add palm sugar or jaggery, which heightens its flavour.” And oil from a chekku keeps for a year, says Rajendran, as long as it’s stored in clay utensils.

 

Ancient wisdom

Understanding the importance of including more than one variety of cold-pressed oil in the diet, South Indian menus have always incorporated three — groundnut oil (with its high heating point) for frying, coconut oil for dressing, and sesame oil for curries and gravies. “All the three have their own benefits,” says Nimmi. “As much as coconut oil has received bad press being high in saturated fatty acids, which are considered potential artery cloggers, ironically it has medium chain fatty acids that are seen as heart protectors. However, to err on the side of caution, I'd advocate using these different oils (in moderation) like they were traditionally used in different dishes to get the benefit of each oil, especially in combination with other ingredients. For example, in a Kerala fish curry, the combination of kokum, fenugreek, Kashmiri chilli and oily fish might just complement a spoon of cold-pressed coconut oil drizzled on top while serving. These areas are greatly under-researched,” she says.

But whichever oil you use, use it sparingly, warns Chandra. “One gram of oil has 9 calories; 1 teaspoon, therefore, has 45 calories, the equivalent of half a chapatti. Remember, the unburned calories will sit around as fat!”

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Food/pressing-matters/article4512318.ece

Mapillai Samba (The Bridegroom’s Samba)

Mapillai Samba (The Bridegroom’s Samba)

• Many indigenous varieties are rice are known to increase the energy of the eater. In folklore, a bridegroom once had to display his strength by lifting a heavy stone called the Mapillai Kallu (The Bridegroom’s Stone). Eating the Mapillai Samba rice gave him enough energy to lift the stone and presumably win the fair maiden.

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Why is it important to increase our base of rice consumption and support indigenous varieties of rice?
1. Indigenous rice is naturally hardy and pest resistant reducing the dependence on pesticides

• A case in point: In the 1970s, a virus called the Grassy Stunt virus decimated rice cultivation from Indonesia to India. The rice cultivation at that time in Asia, had been sparked off by the Green revolution, supported by the efforts of the International Rice research Institute. The IRRI bred and developed the paddy varieties used across Asia during the Green revolution to give high yields.These paddy varieties were then called ‘miracle rice’.
• None of these miracle rices could withstand the attack of the virus. After a 4 year search, researchers found one indigenous variety of Oryza nivara, growing near Gonda, in Uttar Pradesh that could resist the virus’ attack.  Today rice hybrids have been bred that contain this wild Indian gene; these hybrids are grown across Asia. Bred rice is vulnerable to pests; indigenous rice is not.

2. Indigenous rice is not needy; different varieties have adapted themselves to different land conditions from alkaline soil to saline soils, and in drought prone areas and water logged areas.
3. Growing Indigenous rice adds to our food security as a nation. If we used only commercial High yield Hybrids, we are vulnerable to a single pest wiping out our entire rice production.

• A case in point: The Irish potato famine was a period of mass starvation and immigration from 1842 – 1845. This was caused by a potato disease called the potato blight.
• Potato blight is caused by Phytopthora infestans which probably arrived in Ireland from the Andes through guano carried in ships. Guano was in demand as a fertilizer in Europe.
• Nearly 1 million people died as a result of the famine, wiping out 25% of Ireland’s population, changing the course of Ireland for ever.

4. As indigenous rice has already adapted itself to grow in different local conditions, rice can be grown in non-traditional rice areas, reducing the pressure on ‘rice bowl areas’.
5. Indigenous varieties of rice are naturally suited for organic farming, as they need fewer inputs in the form of fertilizers or support in the form of pesticides and herbicides.
6. They are valuable in the agriculture eco system, as they yield straw that is valuable to farmers as cattle feed as well as roofing material.
7. They are inexpensive to cultivate and promote self sufficiency in the farming community
8.There is no need to buy seeds or inputs (fertilizers, pesticides) from anyone.  The farmer saves seeds from every year’s crop and uses it in the next season. Seeds are also swapped between farmers, giving everyone access to a larger gene pool.


SOURCE: http://blog.krya.in/2011/03/ruminations-on-rice/