Rice & Nutrition

IRRI Radio

It could be argued that no disease reflects more about how we live than diabetes. It encompasses how we eat, how much we use our bodies, and hourly decisions regarding both. In many ways our blood sugar is as good an indicator of our health as is our blood pressure or body mass index. To call monitoring your blood sugar a 'numbers game' is to belittle a threat. A very significant one. And to call diabetes an 'epidemic' is not hyperbole. Diabetes is increasing in prevalence in ALL countries; especially the developing world. In Asia - where 90-percent of the world's rice is consumed - diabetes is particularly relevant. Yes, rice is a carbohydrate-rich staple, but its relationship to diabetes is far more nuanced than cause-and-effect. In this podcast Dr. Michael Joyce, MD delves into not just the relationship between diabetes and rice, but also the bigger picture of what role rice plays in an emerging global predicament; that is, most of us are getting far too much to eat, or far too little. For more information on rice and healthy eating habits visit: http://irri.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=12597%3Arice-and-a-healthy-diet&lang=en { This podcast was published July 4th, 2013, during National Nutrition Month in the Philippines }