Is eating rice equivalent to eating sugar?

By: Christian Heicks

Quite a lot of answers here, but nobody really answers the question directly: Eating rice is NOT equivalent to eating sugar. Rice will become glucose in the body, while sugar is a 50/50 mixture of glucose and fructose.
Also, everybody's talking about blood sugar levels, but that's not the whole story. Fructose, for example doesn't even raise the blood sugar(glucose) level, but it's still bad - it's significantly worse than glucose, for several reasons:

1. Fructose can't be used by most cells of the body, so most is metabolized in the liver, with effects similar to alcohol (after all, alcohol is made from fructose). Excessive fructose consumption might contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

2. Fructose oxidizes proteins about 7 times faster than glucose. Oxidation of proteins occurs naturally in the body, rendering the proteins unusable. (Search for "advanced glycation end products"). This is also why a high blood sugar level isn’t good.

3. Fructose is converted to fat more "efficiently" than glucose. I don't know the exact number right now, but I think it was about 30 %, while only 10 % of glucose is converted to fat. (Yes, those numbers only apply for the specific amount used in that study, but other amounts shouldn't change that ratio too much.)

There are several other reasons, you can look them up on wikipedia or just google a bit. Or watch this talk:

So, what's with rice? Sure, rice has a higher glycemic index than sugar (that's because half of sugar - the fructose - doesn't contribute to the blood sugar level), but the glycemic index itself doesn't say much.
Rice isn't usually eaten separately. If eaten in a meal with other food, the glycemic index of rice (and with other foods as well) decreases dramatically.
Generally, fat, acid (e. g. vinegar) and fiber are responsible for that. So be careful with "low-fat"-meals.... (I don't think much of the whole "low-fat-movement", anyway).

So: If you eat rice in a meal, the glycemic index is often only half the value found in the tables - for normal amounts of rice, the resulting blood sugar level is no problem. And the body needs glucose, after all.

BEAT THE BLUES!

What does "beat the blues" mean? Without context, I would suppose it to mean "to overcome a blue mood or tendency toward feeling depressed."

The more rainy days like at the moment - the more people feel low. Not really depressed but a bit lackluster. Especially during Sundays or the first days of a longer vacation. Living in the Philippines is also much more different than in my home country Germany. As an expatriate, I learned to change my lifestyle here. I don't want to give suggestions or advice "about what to eat and to drink", or, better "what NOT"! Other experts and fellow columnists might do that much better.

However, I experienced myself that some simple things are really working well:

Distract yourself: the last thing you should do is lying in the bed wallowing in self-pity. It's better to distract yourself with a dose of normality. Watching a movie (possibly not a drama or tragedy!) or even cleaning the kitchen on a Sunday can help. Important is, that you move away from where you feel bad. I mostly love to re-arrange my office at home or do a simple walk around into nature. It really does miracles.

Forgive someone: when you forgive someone or even yourself, you release anger and resentment that's bogging you down. If you remain angry, you're carrying all the negatives of the day and maybe from the whole world. Check the news: there is already enough negativism. Natural disasters, war, corruption, incompetent politicians, bullying neighbours etc. etc.

Switch to realistic thinking: the happy medium between rose-tinted positive thinking and beat-yourself-up-negativity is when you can say, "Okay, I am having a bad day, but it doesn't make me feel a failure", instead of, "I feel awful and/or my life is awful". The last will only make you feel worse.

Develop a positive attitude: I met several expatriates, who love to complain about everything and everyone. I try my best to stay away from them. Nowhere on earth is paradise! Examine your thoughts and perceptions, and replace unhelpful thoughts patterns with a more positive approach. The difference between a happy person and someone who is really depressed isn't that one has all the world's luck. But, they perceive what's happening to them differently.

Do a life audit: some people become stuck in a rut because they don't take time to work out where they are heading. Try to make decisions to change your life and ask yourself what is getting in your way and what can you do about it. It is the same principle as going through your cupboards and tossing out the clothes that don't fit you any more. If there are no uses, they are just cluttering your life. And remember, you might even laugh about it later. Stop crying to "cope" (making sure everything goes smoothly!) and deal with life more simply.

Whether it's the weather, trouble at work or a broken heart, if you are dragging yourself through the day like a little slug of sadness I've got these ways to improve your mood that are free, easy and involve chocolate and hugs.

The distinctive mark of a true Christian

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

CHRIST said it very clearly. “This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another,” he said. (Jn 13,35) And in another instance, he described how this love for one another should be. “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.” (Jn 15,12)

Let’s make no mistake about how this love should be. It definitely has a universal scope, such that even our enemies would be objects of our love. It’s a love that is inclusive despite our unavoidable differences and conflicts. It’s a love that, as St. Paul would describe it, “is patient and kind, does not envy or boast, not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Cor 13,2-8)

And the secret is to learn to see Christ in everyone, including those with whom we may have serious differences or are in conflict, no matter how deformed the image of Christ they bear. We have to go beyond seeing others in a purely human way without, of course, neglecting the human and natural in us.

In short, we have to see others in a spiritual way, within the framework of faith, hope and charity. Otherwise we cannot avoid getting entangled in our limited and conflict-prone earthly condition. And no amount of human justice and humanitarianism can fully resolve this predicament.

Thus, we need to develop and hone our skills of looking at others beyond the merely physical, social, economic, cultural or political way. While these aspects are always to be considered, we should not be trapped by them.

There are many reasons for this. First would be that we are all brothers and sisters, created by God in his image and likeness, and made children of his through his grace.

In spite of our differences—race, culture, beliefs, etc.—we are meant to care and love one another. Thus, our Lord told us to “love your neighbour as I have loved you.” (Jn 13,34) 

And how did Christ love us? By becoming man and assuming all our sinfulness, dying to it to give us a new life in him. His love was for everyone, and especially for those who were weak and handicapped not so much in the physical sense as in the moral sense.

It’s a love that is inclusive in spite of our unavoidable differences and conflicts in the areas of lifestyles, cultures, ideologies, opinions, preferences and even in beliefs, spiritualities and morals.

This is the inclusivity of charity that goes together with the exclusivity of truth. Working this combination out will always be, of course, a work in progress, with prudence and fortitude playing an important role in the process. Let’s just take it easy and be cool and calm as we also seriously undertake the lifelong task of combining this inclusivity of charity with the exclusivity of truth.

We need to remember that we always have to contend with our natural human limitations, not to mention the more subtle effects and consequences of sin, ours and those of others. We should not be too surprised and worried about this given condition in our life. We just have to do something about it.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com