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White rice

Hello @friends1400 - I eat a small portion of Bismati Rice once a fortnight and it does not have much effect on my Blood Sugars.
I'm assuming you have a Blood Glucose Meter? We always suggest to New Members, if in doubt about a certain food - test before, eat, then test 2 hours later and keep a food diary with the results. We all react differently to food, what one person can eat and have no rise in blood sugar, another person can react differently and send blood sugars high.
Have you had daisy1's information for new members at all?
 
Welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 for that info for you. I cannot eat any type of rice as it sends me sky high but others can have it mostly in small amounts. As @Liam1955 has said, the only way to know is to test.
 
@friends1400

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 147,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why :)
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Hi @friends1400 and welcome to the forum. I used to eat mainly white basmati rice. i still eat it occasionally, but in smaller quantities than before. I now eat brown basmati rice too, and Cauli Rice.
 
When I do eat rice, it's always brown. I wonder if it too contains arsenic and if it does, more than white rice? ,,,,,
 
I get Basmati rice - or what is labelled as such, I have a sensitive nose and used to get the pukka stuff - but anyway, I can't eat it as it puts my blood glucose levels up disproportionately to the amount I eat. When I absent mindedly mixed in all the peas and decided to eat a tiny amount of the mixture I got into the teens afterwards.
Having a meter and testing after various meals or snacks will warn you of the foods you are unable to tolerate, and also give reassurance about what you can cope with and when - it can be OK for dinner but not lunch, or even show up next morning.
 
If you watched Trust me I'm a Dr. there was a section on arsenic content in rice.
Levels of arsenic in rice
Because arsenic can be found in soil and water, small amounts can get into food, but generally these levels are too low to cause significant concern. Rice however, has around 10 – 20 times more arsenic than other cereal crops. This is because it is grown in flooded conditions which make it much easier for arsenic to leave the soil and enter the rice.


Michael Mosley met Prof Andy Meharg from Queen’s University, Belfast, who has worked in this field for decades. He regularly tests rice and rice products and in general he has seen the following:

  • Basmati rice contains lower levels than other rice
  • Brown rice usually contains more arsenic than white rice (because of the husk)
  • Growing rice organically doesn’t make a difference to levels
  • Rice cakes and crackers can contain levels higher than in cooked rice.
  • The levels of arsenic found in rice milk far exceed the amounts that would be allowed in drinking water
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/art...hould-i-be-concerned-about-arsenic-in-my-rice
 
Speaking of Basmati rice I saw/read something about how if one boils or steams white Basmati rice then allow it to cool before putting it in the refrigerator overnight the carb levels are markedly reduced. I apologise for the lack of a source for this statement as I have been reading up on t2 a lot and have trouble separating the wheat from the chaff (no pun intended).
 
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