In the Philippines, rice is a staple food. Not eating rice during a meal is almost unheard of, especially for the regular Filipino.
Which is why unlimited rice promos have become very popular, with a restaurant offering the promo popping up in almost every mall, or street corner.
But if Senator Cynthia Villar has her way with it, she wants Filipinos to cut back on eating unli-rice.
“Unli-rice is unhealthy”
Senator Villar, who is currently the chair of the senate committee on agriculture and food, told reporters, “You know, the findings in other countries, mas better ang diet nila. Hindi masyadong maraming rice, may vegetable. If you really ask doctors, that’s a better diet.”
“So dapat i-train na rin nating mga Filipinos not to eat too much rice kasi nagiging diabetic. And you know, it’s expensive to cure diabetes. Parang sinasabi sa ibang bansa kaya hindi sila nagiging self-sufficient, because they have a better diet. So makakatulong iyon, iyong sinasabi nilang unlimited rice, hindi maganda iyon sa diet natin.”
She adds, “Rice causes an increase in the level of sugar in the blood, which makes pancreas produce more insulin and cause frequent spikes in blood sugar level leading to diabetes. When not managed, diabetes may cause organ malfunction leading to death.”
No ban on unli-rice
The senator was also quick to point out that she’s not out to ban unli-rice promos in the country, as some have reported. She just merely expressed her concern that a lot of Filipinos take advantage of these unli-rice promos, and eating too much rice can cause a lot of health problems, including diabetes.
She added that it would be difficult to stop Filipinos from eating rice, as we are a nation of rice eaters. She then goes on to say, “But to decrease health risks, cutting down on rice is still a good idea.”
Not only in the Philippines
In the United States, where the obese and overweight population is getting larger and larger, some restaurants, notable McDonald’s, has attempted to offer healthier options for diners. Previously, McDonald’s offered a ‘supersize’ option, wherein a customer can buy a larger portion of food compared to the regular size.
Due to this promo, the growing number of obese and overweight Americans was blamed on eating too much fast food, and fast food restaurants not offering healthy options for diners. A documentary was also made, entitled, “Supersize Me,” wherein Morgan Spurlock, a filmmaker, documented himself living solely on fast food for an entire month. Unsurprisingly, at the end of a month of living only on fast food, he was extremely unhealthy, and his health was very much at risk due to the rapid weight gain.
This spurred McDonald’s to eventually phase out the supersize option, and offer healthier food to their diners.
Sources: news.abs-cbn.com, nbcnews.com, newsinfo.inquirer.net
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