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Whole grains" suchas brown rice and barley riceimprove diabetes, sleep, and depression
Keywords
Eating "whole grains" suchaswhole grain bread, brown rice, sprouted brown rice, millet rice, and barley ricelowers the risk of diabetes and obesity.
Studies have also shown that awhole graineating style canimprove sleep and prevent depression.
NotAll Carbohydrates Are CreatedEqual
Choosing the right carbohydratesand adjusting the amount of carbohydratesyoueatis the best approach to controlling diabetes. Of the three macronutrients, carbohydrates are theones that havethe most immediateimpactonbloodsugar, so weneed to be careful about how we consume them.
Eating refined flour orwhite rice, for example,may contain the same amount of carbohydrates, but because they contain less fiber, they are absorbedmore quickly,leading to an increase in postprandialbloodglucose." For diabeticswhoneed to control theirbloodsugar, the recommendationiswhole grains," says Carla Duenas.
Duenasis adietitian with Baptist Health South Florida, a clinical carenetwork withseven hospitals in the U.S.state of Florida.She stresses, "To achieve ahealthydiet,whole grains should be included in thediet, along with high-quality protein, vegetables, and fruits."
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Whole grains are grains that have not had their hulls,seedskins, embryos, or endosperm removedbyprocessing suchas milling.
Many studies have shown that adiet rich inwhole grains reduces the risk of diabetes, obesity, andheart diseasemore than adiet rich in refined grains.
Familiarwhole grains includefoods suchas bread, pasta, and oatmealmade fromwhole wheat grains, brown rice, sprouted brown rice, millet rice, and barley rice containing barley.
Brown riceis awhole grain and rich in fiber. Althoughwhole grains are not necessarily the best choice, replacingwhite rice with brown riceis recommended for people with diabetes or obesity," Duenas advises.
Youget the fiberyoutend to lack.
Carbohydrates can be divided intosimple carbohydrates, which raisebloodglucoselevels quickly, andcomplex carbohydrates, which raise themslowly.Simple carbohydrates are thosefound insweets and fruits, whilecomplex carbohydrates are thosefound in grains, potatoes,beans, and otherfoods.
Complex carbohydratestake longer to be absorbed and raisebloodglucoselevelsat a slowerrate because they are broken down intosimple carbohydrates beforebeing digestedand absorbed.
Complex carbohydrates are "healthy carbohydrates.Whole grains suchas unrefined flour and brown rice have properties similar tocomplex carbohydrates. They are rich in nutrients that are often lacking, suchas fiber, vitamins, minerals,and antioxidants, which arelost during the refining process," Duenas pointsout.
Refined carbohydrates can also causeinsomnia.
Thirty percent of adults suffer frominsomnia, and part of the causemay bedietary style. Refined carbohydratesmay increase the risk ofinsomnia in women, according to a study.
The study showed that postmenopausal womenwhoeatjunkfoods andsoft drinks, especially those high in carbohydrates, aremore likely to developinsomnia.
Conversely, womenwho consumemore fiber-rich fruits and vegetables have a decreased risk ofinsomnia.
The studywas conductedbyJames Ganwish and colleagues from the Bagelos School of MedicineatColumbia University inthe UnitedStates.
77,860 women were studied for three years.
Insomniais often treated with pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, both of which are costly to the patient and expensive. Improvingone'sdietislow-cost, easy to implement, and free of side effects," says Ganwish.
The studyis basedon data from observational studies conductedby theNational Institutes of Health (NIH) Women's Health Initiative Study (WHI) to obtain information to prevent and treat health problems among women.
The researchers examined theassociationbetweeninsomnia and 77,860 postmenopausal womenwho participated in the WHI. They surveyed them about theirdietary habits and followed them for three years from 1997 to 2001.
The participants were analyzedby dividing them intofivegroups according toGIlevel, anindex that indicates the ease with whichbloodglucoselevelsrise after a meal.
The results revealed a 16% higher risk of developinginsomniaand an11% higher prevalence in thegroup with higherdietaryGI values. The study alsofound that the higher the intake of vegetables and fruits, thelower the risk ofinsomnia.
The study alsofound alower risk of developing depression.
The studyfound that "aspike inbloodglucoselevels after a meal stimulates the secretion of insulin, whichlowersbloodglucose, andmaylead to astate of hyperinsulinemia.As a result,bloodglucoselevelsdrop and the secretion of hormones suchas adrenaline andcortisol increases, whichmay disrupt sleep," explains Ganwish.
Thefoods thattriggerinsomniamay be processedfoods that contain highlevels ofisomerizedsugar, whichis composed of fructose andglucose. Suchfoods arenot found innature, but are mass-produced industrially and sold cheaply.
Fruits also contain fructose, but they are also rich in fiber. Fruits have alowGIand are thought to be less likely to cause postprandialbloodsugar elevation.
A study of 69,954 womenwho participated in the WHI, publishedby Ganwish and colleagues in 2015, also showed that womenwhoate a highGIdiet had a 22% higher risk of developing depression.
Gunwish noted, "Weneed randomized clinical trials to determine the benefits of improvingdiet and increasing intake ofwhole grains andcomplex carbohydrates to prevent and treatinsomnia and depression."
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