Good News For Diabetics! Low GI Rice Variety Identified
rice will no more be a 'villain' for diabetic patients as researchers in the north Indian state of Chhattisgarh have identified a high-yielding variety of white rice with low Glycemic Index (GI) measurement of how foods affect blood sugar levels.
The finding is not only advantageous for people with diabetes, or at a risk of the disease, it can also be a part of a healthy diet for the average consumers, experts feel. A team of researchers from Indira Gandhi Agriculture University (IGAU) Raipur, led by Department of Plant Molecular and Biotechnology's Professor Dr Girish Chandel, has identified the variety of low GI rice, which is expected to be released next month at a commercial level.
"Since past few years we have been working to develop or identify a rice variety with low GI that could be fruitful for sugar patients. Interestingly, we found it on the 'Chapati Gurmatiya' race of rice, which is a traditional cultivated variety of paddy in Chhattisgarh," PTI quoted Dr Chandel as saying. He said that this new development is significant as rice is a staple diet for a big population. Consumption of white rice with GI more than permissible limits can be harmful for diabetic patients. Keeping this in view, the research was taken up, he said.
The identified variety of rice has GI score of 55, which is considered as diabetic-friendly. Therefore, the researchers are planning to name it as 'Madhuraj-55' for commercial sale. This rice breaks down more slowly into glucose after consumption, therefore ensuring that sugar is more slowly released in the blood, rather than all at once, he said. For a nation like India which has more than 65 million diabetic patients, the discovery of low GI rice would prove to be great tool to fight the epidemic, according to Chandel. (dpa)
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