Brown Rice Helps Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk

A study published in this week’s Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that substituting brown rice for white rice can help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers from Harvard and Brigham & Women’s Hospital found that nurses enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and the Nurses Health Study I and II who had high brown rice intake (2 or more servings per week) as opposed to low brown rice intake (less than 1 per month) had lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

The researchers recommend that replacing 50 grams per day (about 1/3 serving or 1/8 cup) uncooked white rice with the same amount of brown rice can help lower type 2 diabetes risk by 16%. They concluded that, “Substitutions of whole grains, including brown rice, for white rice may lower the risk of diabetes. These data support the recommendation that most carbohydrate should come from whole grains rather than refined grains to help prevent type 2 diabetes.