What Indians eat and how could be fueling the diabetes epidemic across the country, suggests a new survey that interviewed 4,000 diabetic patients across eight cities. The main culprit could be the Indian craving for rice, fine-flour rotis or upma - all carbohydrate-based foodstuff high on calories but low on much-needed fibre. "Rice accounts for 48% of the daily calorific intake of most Indians,'' said endocrinologist Dr V Mohan from Chennai. Considering that most types of white rice rapidly increase the blood sugar levels, caution is advised.
But urban Indians who suffer from diabetes seem far from cautious. The new survey, titled Food, Spikes and Diabetes Survey, showed seven out o f 10 people with diabetes in urban India paid little attention to what and how much they eat. Carbohydrates are supposed to comprise only 60% of the plate, but 70% of those surveyed in Mumbai and 84% of…
