'Kaning lamig' better for people with diabetes — Indonesian study

MANILA, Philippines — Irene, a 54-year-old Filipino, has been in prescribed maintenance medications to regulate her blood sugar levels. 

She is a part of the population with type two diabetes, the most common type of the condition, which is a result of a person’s lifestyle.

According to Philippine Statistics Authority's 2022 data, diabetes or diabetes mellitus is the country’s fourth leading cause of death. 

Irene manages her diabetes by conscientiously avoiding sweet foods and diligently limiting what she eats on a daily basis.

However, she said that when it comes to rice, she cannot resist it. 

“Pagdating sa kanin, nakaka-tatlo o apat na cups talaga ako per meal araw-araw (When it comes to rice, I often have three to four cups of rice per meal every day),” she said in an interview with Philstar.com. 

Despite the soaring rice prices in recent months, Irene's rice supply remain consistently well-stocked.

“Basta may kanin, kahit wala nang ulam (As long as there's rice, even if there's no viand, that's enough),” she said.

Irene is also a part of the 83% of Filipinos who spend most of their budget on rice in the past quarter.

READ:  Filipinos spend more on rice in the past three months — Pulse Asia

For rice-loving people like Irene, there is a good news. 

A 2015 Indonesian study found that cold rice or "kaning lamig", also popularly known in the Philippines as "bahaw", can be an option for rice-loving diabetics.

Diabetic patients are discouraged to eat rice because of its starchy composition, which gets digested and converted into glucose.

“So 'pag mas marami tayong kakaining kanin, mas marami din glucose (So if we consume more rice, there’s more glucose),” physician Raymond Ilao said in an interview with Philstar.com.

According to the study from Universitas Indonesia, reheated cold rice has “significantly lowered glycemic response compared to freshly cooked rice.”

“Cooked white rice cooled at four degrees celsius then reheated can be recommended for diabetic patients in everyday diet,” the study said. 

This is due to the formation of “resistant starch” which is slower to be converted into glucose compared with freshly cooked rice. 

It also has a lower glycemic