New rice variety that helps reduce diabetes will be grown commercially in 2025

Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines have successfully developed a new rice variety that could help alleviate the growing diabetes epidemic worldwide.

An estimated 537 million adults on the planet are living with diabetes and this number is expected to increase to 783 million in the next 20 years.

IRRI's ultra-low glycemic index rice sample - (Photo: IRRI)/

The majority of the Asian population are rice eaters, but up to 60% of the world's diabetics live in this region. Therefore, the new rice variety with an extremely low glycemic index will help prevent health risks for the people.

According to WION newspaper , Dr. Nese Sreenivasulu - chief scientist at the center for cereal nutrition and quality at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which developed the rice - said that the rice variety could soon be grown in India.

In fact, nearly a year ago, the first sample of rice with an extremely low glycemic index was presented to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the opening ceremony of the 2023 World Rice Congress in mid-October 2023.

'With this research, we are working to ensure the health of consumers. We look forward to working with countries to accelerate the development of low and ultra-low glycemic index rice varieties,' IRRI Director General Ajay Kohli said at the time.

IRRI's ultra-low glycemic rice growing area - (Photo: IRRI).

Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus , is a common chronic metabolic disorder. When you have the disease, your body loses its ability to properly use or produce the hormone insulin, which means you have blood sugar levels that are above normal and your body is unable to regulate them back to normal.

There are two types of diabetes: type 1 is an autoimmune condition that cannot be prevented, requiring daily insulin injections; type 2 diabetes can be treated to some extent with lifestyle and dietary changes, and sometimes medication can be avoided.

People with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes can benefit from a diet of foods with a low glycemic index (GI) .

According to Diabetes Canada, the GI is a scale from 1-100 that ranks carbohydrate-containing foods or beverages according to how much they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI (70 or higher) raise blood sugar levels more and faster than foods with a low GI (55 or less). Most rice today has a GI of 70 to 72.

White rice is notorious for its high glycemic index. However, IRRI has developed a rice variety that has a low GI of around 25, while still being high in protein. The new rice looks like white rice but has smaller grains.

IRRI researchers screened 380 seed samples over 10 years to select genes with lower GI and higher protein content. They combined these to create healthier rice that is less likely to cause diabetes.

Dr Nese Sreenivasulu asserts that if a low GI diet can be introduced, which is considered healthier, not only for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes, it would be a very good intervention to combat the rising cases of diabetes.

According to The Guardian , this IRRI project is still being tested in the Philippines, with the hope of being widely deployed in many African and Asian countries in 2025.