Indonesia has local food resources with high food fibre contents that are good for health. Food fibres can protect the body from diseases that emerge due to bad diet, for patients of Diebetes Mellitus, heart disease, colon cancer, and obesity. The local food resources that have high food fibres are arrowroot and lesser yam. These have been researched by researcher from Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing of UGM, Dr. Sunarti, M.Kes., in a Talkhow held at the Faculty's Library on Wednesday (18/4).
Sunarti said clinical tests had been conducted on both tubers to patients of diabetes mellitus. Sunarti said food that has high food fibres usually has low glycemic index, under 55. Both tubers even have lower level.
“The glycemic index is low, which is 32,” said the food fibre book writer.
Glycemic Index is a measurement to indicate how fast carbohydrate in food can be changed into sugar by the human body, Sunarti said despite the low level in both tubers, but the level also depends on how to cook them to maintain the fibres to get dissolved in the body. "Cooking process can affect it, heating at 150 degree Celcius for 15 minutes, the fibres that get dissolved will be more," she said.
However, the tubers are hard to get because farmers rarely grow them. She considered it beneficial if they were grown more for DM patients and to minimise dependence on imported food sources such as wheat.
She said dissolved fibres may control the absorption of food and satisfy the person for longer, hence suitable for DM patients and people on diet. "We know DM patients often feel hungry, if eating is not limited, this will increase the sugar level." she said.
Internal disease expert, dr. Youngki, said non-communicable disease prevalence has soared sharply. So, maintaining diet and healthy life style is very much needed.
"Non-communicable diseases very much relate to what we eat, or unhealthy life style that it may bring the risk of metabollic syndrome," he said.
He explained that metabollic syndrome is the combination of a number of risk conditions of cardiovascular disease with the increasing high blood pressure, blood sugar level, cholesterol level and obesity that are experienced at the same time. "Keeping your body weight and regular exercise is important to prevent this syndrome," he said.