The benefits of eating brown rice and other whole grain foods have long been touted.
A particular kind of brown rice -- called pre-germinated or sprouted brown rice -- has shown in animal studies and smaller clinical trials in people that it can help lower blood-sugar levels and alleviate peripheral nerve damage from diabetes. Now researchers at the Medical College of Georgia say they know why it is better.
"Germination is a very important process for additional benefits," said Seigo Usuki, an assistant research scientist at MCG who has presented his rice research at the American Diabetes Association's annual scientific sessions the past two years. The most recent study on its benefits was published online last month in the Journal of Lipid Research .
Germinating appears to allow the rice to develop a number of important molecules, some of which are called acylated steryl glucosides, or ASGs, said Robert K. Yu, the director of MCG's Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, who is collaborating on the rice research.
Those chemicals stimulate sodium, potassium and cell energy pathways that are diminished in peripheral nerve damage, helping to limit the damage, Dr. Yu said.
Germination also greatly increased the levels of a neurotransmitter that can help limit the nerve damage, Dr. Yu said.
The ASG compounds appear to help reduce blood-glucose levels as well, Dr. Usuki said.
While MCG is still doing testing, the Japanese company that produces much of the rice there would ultimately like to see the compound developed into a nutritional supplement to help treat or prevent type II diabetes, Dr. Yu said.
He thinks it would have some advantages over some current medications.
"I think it's exciting in the sense that it is from a natural source," Dr. Yu said. "It's much better. It's a health food, basically."
In a small clinical study in Japan published in April, people with type II diabetes who ate the germinated rice had better levels of blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides than those who ate white rice.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in 2007 more than 25 percent of U.S. adults -- about 57 million people -- had prediabetes or insulin problems that could lead to type II diabetes.
"It is a big health problem," Dr. Yu said.
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
HARD TO FIND
Pre-germinated or sprouted brown rice is rice that has been allowed to reach a certain level of germination, usually by soaking it in water with some processing. The germination creates some bioactive chemicals that researchers at the Medical College of Georgia say could be helpful in controlling problems with diabetes.
While the rice is popular in Japan and Asia, it doesn't seem to have made much of a dent in the United States. A quick check of gourmet grocery stores and Asian markets turned up no pre-germinated brown rice. A couple of companies on the Internet offer products made with sprouted brown rice.
If nothing else, one of the MCG researchers suggested soaking your brown rice overnight.
BROWN VS. WHITE
White rice has had the brown bran covering removed during the milling process. Consumers often prefer white rice because it is fluffier and cooks faster than brown rice. Because it still has the bran covering, a cup of brown rice has 31/2 grams of fiber; the same amount of white rice has less than 1 gram of fiber.
Brown rice also contains such nutrients as magnesium, manganese and zinc. White rice has reduced levels of these nutrients, although it is often fortified with iron and some B vitamins.
Source: about.com
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