Showing posts with label fiber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiber. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Brown Rice: More than Low GL or High Fiber

Brown Rice has been a mainstay of organic, whole food nutrition and food plans for a very long time.  It has also been a mainstay of more macrobiotic food plans for as long or longer.  Both choices have suffered the ridicule of mainstream medicine and dietitians for as long or longer than I have been involved as a health care professional which has been more than 40 years.  I have studied nutrition for far longer and it amazes me how slow mainstream is to learn about the benefits of such whole foods as brown rice, and then how they get the credit as if they are the first to discover it.

I have for decades now been recommending a special brown rice meal to people with diabetes or those at risk.  I've also been recommending it as a special meal for deep cellular detoxification.  And if you knew the nutritional benefits you would understand why.

White rice 'raises diabetes risk', say US experts

White rice has a higher glycemic load than brown rice.
Replacing white rice with brown rice and wholemeal bread could cut the risk of diabetes by a third, US experts say.
White rice poses a diabetes threat because it causes steep rises in blood sugar, say Harvard researchers in Archives of Internal Medicine.
Brown rice and other wholegrain foods are a healthier option as they release glucose more gradually, they say. Complete article
What I think is more important and not addressed in this report is the basic nutritional profile of this whole food and that connection to health or dis-ease.

Brown rice is high in the mineral manganese. Manganese is important for many functions. It can
  • Help your body utilize several key nutrients such as biotin, thiamine, ascorbic acid, and choline
  • Keep your bones strong and healthy
  • Help your body synthesize fatty acids and cholestorol
  • Maintain normal blood sugar levels
  • Promote optimal function of your thyroid gland
  • Maintain the health of your nerves
  • Protect your cells from free-radical damage 
Biotin and Thiamine are part of the vitamin B complex.  B vitamins are especially important for people with diabetes.  It is also important to support healthy thyroid function because it has a direct link to diabetes.

Brown rice is also high in selenium which helps support your thyroid and iodine metabolism, and it is high in magnesium which is also very important for people with this health problem.  This unhulled rice also is known to be high in phytonutrients that may be equal to or higher than fruits and vegetables.

Brown rice is helpful as well for lowering cholesterol, preventing cardiovascular disease, weight management, protecting against breast and colon cancer (other cancers too), preventing gallstones, and aiding childhood asthma.

Purchase organic brown rice when possible to reduce risk of arsenic exposure and store it in the refrigerator to prevent it from becoming rancid as it contains rice bran oils.  The oil is a source of vitamin E and tocotrienols. It also contains trytophan.

I always suggest soaking this rice overnight before cooking to reduce the phytic acid load.

More about Brown Rice nutrition

Combining brown rice with sesame seed in my special recipe adds more preventive nutrition for diabetes. This combination raises the level of IP6 availability.  IP6 (inositol) boosts your  immune system, helps lower cholesterol, prevents kidney stones, helps prevent osteoporosis, prevents or reduces the complications of diabetes and sickle cell anemia, reduces risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke.
IP-6 + Inositol Against Diabetes - Experiments with isolated murine pancreatic beta cells have shown that IP-6 stimulates these cells to secrete insulin" [Hoy et al, Journal of Biological Chemistry Vol: 278 #37 pages 35168-35171, September 12, 2003]. And Dilworth and colleagues report that IP-6 supplementation when administered in diet lowered blood glucose levels in rats. That diabetics could be benefited from IP-6 + Inositol is further supported by data from Nascimento and colleagues who report in the January 3, 2006 issue of the PNAS that in their experimental model, inositol itself may work as an antioxidant and not only prevents but also reverses many of the complications of diabetes. Thus, on one hand, IP-6 causes direct stimulation of insulin from pancreatic beta cells and inositol on the other hand helps in the prevention of complications of diabetes; combination of IP-6 + Inositol gives dual benefits. Read more here
We published an entire issue of herbalYODA Says! about diabetes some time ago,  This informative issue is available with a donation to keep our work alive and well.

Our bioSupplemente has IP6 (now RKBioBlend) and ADVENTURx, with a magnesium base, both help support health for people with diabetes.

Resources: whole health foods, Natural Healing through Natural Health
Archives of Internal Medicine 

NB:  I appreciate this comment regarding this and many other articles I write at Natural Health News.  It is from a member of a medical list to which I subscribe -
Is this really new information! We know and have known for years that whole grain (with the germ and husk) is healthier for you than one stripped of it's outer shell and germ. there is more fiber in whole grain which slows down the absorption of sugars. It blows my mind that information we have known for years gets money for research. It would be similar to studying" does putting your hand on a hot stove burn you" of course it does do we need to prove it?
Brown Rice Recipe for Heavy Metals - Soak 3 cups of organic brown rice ovenight.  Pour off water and place in pot with tight closing lid.  Add 7 cups of pure water and one sliced medium red onion and 1 tabespoon dulse.  Cook and eat several servings daily until gone, maintain a regulr healthy food plan.  This is not a fast.

One brown rice recipe I enjoy - Asian Brown Rice 
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice, rinsed and drained 
2-1/2 cups water 
2 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped 
1/2 tsp. Oriental sesame oil 
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce

Cooking Instructions:
Combine all ingredients, except soy sauce, in a heavy saucepan. Bring
to a boil over medium high heat. Boil 5 minutes. Lower heat as low as
possible. Cover pan tightly and let rice simmer 45 minutes
without lifting lid. After 45 minutes, turn off the heat, and 
let stand covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve drizzled
with soy sauce.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

'Old treatments' better

Two of the most effective treatments I have ever used with clients experiencing GI problems have been peppermint oil (and tea) as well as fiber or a favorite fiber blend.

A Novartis drug taken off the market recently made me want to pull my hair out because it had such offensive ads. Women were targeted and I think the tome was that IBS was one of those "hypochondriac" and imaginary illnesses.

I guess no one at Novartis knew, or cared, that IBS and other issues like diverticulitis often were from a lack of fiber in the diet.

I like to use peppermint oil. Generally these come in coated capsules but I have had clients use peppermint tea and essential oil effectively. Peppermint oil does soothe and relax, but can fight bacteria as well.

Not to overlook the stress related GI problems, herbs such as marshmallow root for reducing inflammation along with scullcap or similar herbs, and selected flower essences can do quite a remarkable job.
'Old treatments' better for IBS
Older "overlooked" treatments for irritable bowel syndrome may end up being the best option for patients, research suggests.

Fibre, anti-spasmodic drugs and peppermint oil were all found to be effective in a review of the evidence.

Guidelines on IBS should be updated in light of the findings, the researchers say in the British Medical Journal.

A UK expert said there had been a general feeling among doctors that the therapies "didn't work".

Between 5% and 20% of the population is estimated to suffer from IBS which is characterised by abdominal pain and an irregular bowel habit.


This puts these simple remedies back on the agenda
Professor Roger Jones, King's College London

The exact cause of the condition is unknown and recommendations for treatment include dietary advice, antidepressants and alternative therapies.

Fibre, antispasmodics and peppermint oil are used to treat IBS, but evidence of their effectiveness is unclear because of conflicting results from studies, the researchers said.

They have also been overlooked because of the focus on newer more expensive drugs which ended up being withdrawn due to lack of efficacy and safety concerns, they added.

Benefits

By trawling through all the studies comparing the therapies with dummy pills or no treatment, the researchers were able to look at data from 2,500 adult patients with IBS.

Fibre, antispasmodics and peppermint oil were all found to be effective, with doctors needing to treat 11, 5 and 2.5 patients, respectively for one patient to benefit.

Insoluble fibre such as bran was not beneficial; only isphaghula husk - a soluble form of fibre - significantly reduced symptoms.

Hyoscine - extracted from the cork wood tree - was the most successful antispasmodic drug looked at and should be the first choice, the researchers said.

Out of all three treatments, peppermint oil seemed to come out on top.

Both peppermint oil and hyoscine - an antispasmodic not currently widely prescribed in the UK - are available from the pharmacy.

Study leader Dr Alex Jones, a gastroenterologist who has recently moved from Canada - where he did the research to St James University Hospital in Leeds - said the treatments were cheap, safe and had been in use for 15 to 20 years.

"They fell out of favour with the development of new drugs.

"This is good news for patients."

Professor Roger Jones, head of the Department of General Practice at Kings College London, and founding president of the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology, said: "There is a general feeling that they don't work very well.

"With all of the treatments for IBS, there is a huge placebo effect so it is easy to imagine your treatment is working then the trials come along and suggest they don't.

"This puts these simple remedies back on the agenda."

He added that the study did not pick out which patients would benefit from which treatment but as they are safe and cheap, patients can test what works best for them.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7727459.stm
Published: 2008/11/14
© BBC MMVIII

 
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