By Evangeline T. Capuno
“The next cult gluten-free grain.”
“Unusual, versatile, and beneficial little weirdo.”
“Chinese pearl barley.”
Those are just some of the “titles” bestowed upon adlai, perhaps the best substitute for rice.
Adlai (known in the science world as Coix lacryma-jobi) is considered a mere weed in some places of the country, but it is prized as a source of raw materials for necklace and bracelets in some regions. Adlai is said to have originated in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is also known as Job’s tears, referring to the droplet-shaped, pearly white “beads,” and to the biblical man of the Old Testament who endured great suffering (“Mine eye poureth out tears unto God,” Job 16:20).
Adlai is considered the champion crop of the Subanen tribe in Mindanao, particularly in Zamboanga and Northern Mindanao, according to Roni Matalog. It is also grown in Davao City and Kidapawan City. In the Cordillera regions, it is common in Sagada and the Mountain Province.
Adlai vs. Rice
There’s nothing wrong with eating rice, which has been part of the human diet for thousands of years.
“Rice is the principal food for over 60% of mankind,” according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Laguna, Philippines. It is particularly important to Asia, where over half of the world’s population lives.
In the Philippines, rice is the staple food, together with fish. “If we did not have rice, our deepest comfort food, we would probably feel less Filipino,” the late food columnist Doreen Fernandez once said.
On average, Filipinos consume 114-120 kilograms of rice per capita per year. That’s almost double the world average of 65 kilograms per capita per year, according to Dr. Eufemio Rasco, Jr., former director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute.
Eating rice is likely safe. However, eating white rice in excess amounts on a daily basis can increase the risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. “This is because it has a high glycemic index (GI) score, meaning that it can cause large spikes in blood sugar after meals,” Medical News Today explains. “Foods with a high glycemic index may increase the risk of diabetes.”
The GI is a measure of how quickly and how much a type of food raises your blood sugar levels after eating them. Low GI foods have a rating of 55 or less, medium GI foods are 56-69, and high GI foods are 70-100. Rice is considered a high GI food, although it varies depending on the type of rice and amount of processing it underwent before getting consumed. Reports show the GI of rice ranging from 48-93, according to a Harvard Medical School report.
Because of how the body processes white rice, it is said to spike blood sugar levels and “has almost the same effect as eating pure table sugar,” adds the Harvard report.
In the Philippines, diabetes is already a health problem. By 2030, over 7 million people are expected to have diabetes. Most of those who have the disease don’t know they have it. In fact, many diabetics die “because it is already too late to remedy the situation,” to quote the words of Dr. Ricardo Fernando, director of Institute for Studies and Diabetes Foundation.
Eating rice daily may increase the tendency for the blood glucose level to keep increasing. Eating a lot of high-GI foods like rice, experts claim, can increase insulin resistance and make it harder for a person to control his or her blood sugar.
“You have to watch what you eat every day to ensure that your blood sugar doesn’t rise to an unhealthy level,” writes healthline.com’s Natalie Silver, adding that exercise habits must also be practiced regularly.
Superior alternative: adlai
Adlai is perhaps the best substitute for rice. “Adlai has half the GI of the various grains we eat the most,” wrote Maria D. Perrine, a former journalist who’s now regarded as a guru of baking, artisan products, and farm living. “Cooked adlai has an average GI of 35 whereas glucose is 100. This means that you can eat twice as much adlai as compared to white or brown rice and three times as much glucose for the same increase in your blood glucose level.”
Another good thing about adlai is that it’s also an energy booster. A 100-gram serving of cooked adlai provides 356 kilo calories (kcal) whereas white rice only provides 110 kcal, according to studies. “Whether you spend the whole day at the office or at the football field, adlai certainly is the perfect companion for anybody who leads a busy or active lifestyle,” writes Cathy Dario for the website, thefatkidinside.com. “It leaves you full longer and leaves out the sluggish, super full feeling we often get after eating a lot of rice.”
As a versatile food, adlai can be paired with almost any meal. “From soups, salads and grain bowls – adlai’s neutral (sometimes nutty) taste makes it perfect to pair with any meal,” Dario writes. “It also has the consistency of al dente pasta, so you can also top rich, delicious sauces over it. For those who love Filipino desserts, adlai can also be cooked into maja blanca, champorado, polvoron, and turones de adlai. Finally, you can enjoy homemade, guiltless, and absolutely healthy kakanin!”
People who want to lose weight are looking for food that would help them get fit and trim. “For weight loss, we need something which is high in vitamins and minerals, which is not available in commercial rice,” says clinical nutritionist and book author Dr. Rupali Datta.
Adlai can then be a suitable alterntive. It is packed with minerals like calcium (25 mg), phosphorus (43.5 mg), iron (5 mg ), niacin (4.3 mg), thiamine (0.28 mg), and riboflavin (0.19 mg). It is also superior to rice when it comes to carbohydrate and protein content (73.9 g and 12.8 grams, respectively).
More research needed
People with high cholesterol are advised to eat adlai. “Developing research suggests that consuming adlai in place of rice for 4 weeks can significantly lower total and ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in people with high cholesterol,” reports webMD.com. “This may be due to the fiber in adlai.”
Nutrition Journey founder Anna Baker hailed, “I can definitely see adlai becoming a new popular trend because it really does have a lot of great health benefits.”
Indeed, more research is being done on adlai. For one, adlai has been found to contain chemicals that might interfere with cancer growth. Other chemicals might also have antioxidant effects and might also decrease growth of bacteria and parasites.
But most research on adlai so far is in the form of animal and in-vitro studies. A study published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that extracts from the plant can suppress allergy symptoms in laboratory mice, and increase their immune systems. Adlai may also have protective benefits for the gastrointestinal system. In 2011, the aforementioned journal published a study showing that adlai seeds seemed to have inhibited gastric cancer cells in vitro, and reduced stomach ulcers in mice.
The Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in 2008 that adlai seeds were found to improve the levels of numerous osteoporosis biomarkers in the blood of mice, versus a control group. The researchers postulated that the extracts might be able to reverse osteoporosis, and may additionally be a beneficial tool for osteoporosis avoidance.
Some caveats
The webMD.com advises women who are pregnant not to eat adlai. “Research in animals suggests that it can poison a developing embryo,” it explains. “It can also cause the uterus to contract, and this might harm the pregnancy.”
If you are scheduled to have surgery, stop eating adlai at least two weeks before. “Adlai might lower blood sugar levels [too much],” webMD.com states. “[and that] might interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgery.” Adlai may also interact with antidiabetes medications. “Taking adlai along with diabetes medications might cause your blood sugar to go too low,” webMD.com warns. “Monitor your blood sugar closely. The dose of your diabetes medication might need to be changed.”
Gaining popularity
As food, adlai is getting popular not only in the Philippines but in other Asian countries as well. In Thailand, for instance, it is often consumed in teas and other drinks like soy milk. In Korean cuisine, a thick drink called yulmu cha is made from powdered adlai grains.
In both Korea and China, distilled liquors are made from the grain. In the southern part of China, adlai is often used in ton sui, a sweet dessert soup. In Vietnam, cooked adlai find their way into sweet, cold soups.
Movie actress Solenn Heussaff considers adlai her “secret carb.” In her blog, she wrote: “I don’t believe that healthy eating means depriving yourself of food, because that actually just makes you crave and binge eat even more. So, what I do is I just look for healthy alternatives to everything. I know I definitely need carbs, because I need energy to go through life, but I also know I don’t have to get it from white rice that’s super high in sugar.” In lieu of rice, Heussaff eats adlai. “It’s a great substitute for rice… but it’s just as filling.”
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