Wheat flour versus rice consumption and vascular diseases: Evidence from the China Study II data

Ned Kock

doi:10.21237/c7clio6227969

Abstract

Why does wheat flour consumption appear to be significantly associated with vascular diseases? To answer this question we analyzed data on rice consumption, wheat flour consumption, total calorie consumption, and mortality from vascular diseases obtained from the China Study II dataset. This dataset covers the years of 1983, 1989 and 1993; with data related to biochemistry, diet, lifestyle, and mortality from various diseases in 69 counties in China. Our analyses point at a counterintuitive conclusion: it may not be wheat flour consumption that is the problem, but the culture associated with it, characterized by: decreased levels of physical activity, decreased exposure to sunlight, increased consumption of processed foods, and increased social isolation. Wheat flour consumption may act as a proxy for the extent to which this culture is expressed in a population. The more this culture is expressed, the greater is the prevalence of vascular diseases.

Highlights

Recent years have seen the vilification of wheat flour as a food ingredient, in health books aimed at non-technical readers, with its consumption being presented as a major cause of a variety of modern diseases, including vascular diseases (Davis, 2011; Taubes, 2008)
To answer this research question, we analyzed data on rice consumption, wheat flour consumption, total calorie consumption, and mortality from vascular diseases obtained from the China Study II dataset (Junshi et al, 2006)
Rice consumption (Rice) and wheat flour consumption (Wheat) were significantly and negatively correlated (r = -0.803, P < 0.001) with each other. Both rice consumption (Rice) and wheat flour consumption (Wheat) were significantly and positively associated with total calorie consumption (Calorie), with the association involving rice consumption (Rice) (β = -0.318, P < 0.001) being much stronger than the association involving wheat flour consumption (Wheat) (β = -0.174, P < 0.001). These results suggest a major divide in terms of rice and wheat flour consumption

Summary

Introduction

Recent years have seen the vilification of wheat flour as a food ingredient, in health books aimed at non-technical readers, with its consumption being presented as a major cause of a variety of modern diseases, including vascular diseases (Davis, 2011; Taubes, 2008). A key hypothesis underlying this indictment of wheat flour is that foods made with it induce acute insulin elevations, promoting excess body fat gain when consumed regularly over a period of several years. Insulin is a hormone that tends to rise sharply in response to the intake of foods that, like those made with wheat flour, have high glycemic indices and, high glycemic loads Wheat flour versus rice consumption and vascular diseases: Evidence from the China Study II data.

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