Interested in earning a degree in Chinese cooking at U.C. Davis? Or maybe you want to take courses open to the public or taste same of the types of cuisine the Food Science and nutrition students are learning? This September, the world's first Confucius Culinary Institute is scheduled to open at UC Davis, in the Davis and Sacramento regional area.
Learn all about Chinese cuisine which dates back more than 2,500 years. Check out the February 12, 2013 Sacramento Bee article by Stephen Magagnini, "Confucius Culinary Institute to open at UC Davis this fall." and see the article, "Confucius Culinary Institute to open at UC Davis this fall - I4U News."
The University of California, Davis food science alumnus Martin Yan, longtime host of "Yan Can Cook," will advise the program, one of hundreds of Chinese language and cultural programs China has helped start in the United States. Chinese cuisine is viewed as an applied science. And come this fall, culinary arts and cuisine of China will be used to promote better understanding of history and culture. Check out the article, Study links white rice to Type 2 diabetes - The China Post.
Emphasis is on the cuisine of Confucius, who introduced chopsticks to Chinese culinary tables, since as a man of peace and philosophy, he didn't want sharp instruments at the table such as forks and knives. Wooden chopsticks required food to be cut into tiny bite-size chunks and morsels. Confucius also developed dietary guidelines and taught about how food needs to be served, cooked, and savored. Also see, China overtakes US as No. 1 trading in goods country.
Chinese ritual vegetarianism festival
Devotees of the Chinese shrine of Bang Neow, prepared pumpkins for vegetarian foods during a procession of Vegetarian Festival on October 13, 2010 in Phuket, Thailand. Ritual Vegetarianism in Phuket Island traces it roots back to the early 1800's. The festival begins on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and lasts for nine days. Participants in the festival perform acts of body piercing as a means of shifting evil spirits from individuals onto themselves and bring the community good luck. The idea is that Chinese cuisine is popular in many places around the world. Did you ever wonder who invented chopsticks to use with food instead of spoons and forks?
Confucius, born in 551 B.C., was a scholar who influenced the use of chopsticks and encouraged devotion to elders and learning. His philosophy has influenced Asian culture ever since. The return of the culinary side of Confucius has made a comeback worldwide through the Confucius Institute, an agency funded by the Chinese government that has established 75 Confucius Institutes at universities in the United States and more than 550 Confucius K-12 classrooms, some in the Sacramento area, such as Rocklin.
The institute isn't without controversy
Rocklin has a K-12 Confucius classroom in the Sacramento area. It's located at Rocklin Academy and opened in October 2011 with a $10,000 grant from the Confucius Institute. Presently there are 120 students in grades 7-11 learning Mandarin and Chinese culture using computers and materials supplied by China. The introduction of Chinese culture, history, art, language, and cooking is quickly spreading in schools throughout Sacramento area, and the classes are made up of American students of a wide variety of ethnic origins, not only Chinese children learning their own culture, history, and cooking traditions.
Students of any ethnic background take courses in Mandarin or other Chinese arts and language studies. San Diego, California also has a Confucius Institute located at San Diego State University since 2009. American students also are informed that China does not control what programs are offered to American students.
At U.C. Davis the atmosphere was that there was no Chinese government control over what will be taught in the fall at U.C. Davis. U.C. Davis officials first met with the director of the Confucius Institute in Beijing, China. At that time, there were no requirements regarding what should be taught in the courses. It's up to the University. For more information check out the University of California, Davis program in Asian International Programs. As far as cooking classes and culinary arts, the method that the Confucius Institute interacts with universities is different than with secondary schools, according to the Sacramento Bee article. If you look through the secondary school reading materials at the Rocklin Institute in the Sacramento suburb of Rocklin, the reading materials or other texts are free and come from China. Also see, China Scholarship Council-UC Davis Joint Ph.D. Training Program Scholarship and China Scholarship Council-UC Davis Ph.D. Fellowship.
At the Rocklin Academy, one of the lessons pictures a cartoon of an FBI agent spying out a window. The Rocklin program began with help from San Francisco State University. Several California universities partner with the Confucius Institute, which often provides teachers and materials, according to the Sacramento Bee article. The biggest demand is to learn the Chinese language. Finding teachers is difficult as there are not that many Chinese language teachers with California teaching credentials in Chinese language arts.
You may a certain number of Chinese scholars who also are familiar with Chinese cuisine, trained by experts, and can teach the history and methods of Chinese cooking in a food science curriculum at U.C. Davis. But at the high school and elementary school levels, they need teaching credentials because of the huge demand for Chinese language.
Since 2004, the Chinese government through the Confucius Institute has trained Chinese teachers worldwide
At U.C. Davis, there are institutes on traditional Chinese drama and history, but this is the first one for Chinese cuisine. You also have degree programs and graduate programs at U.C. Davis leading to degrees in food science, microbrewing, winemaking, and other areas of food science and nutrition.
Bill Lacy proposed the idea at U.C. Davis to start a program on Chinese culinary arts/cuisine. He's the vice provost for University Outreach and International Programs. U.C. Davis, also offers various courses and degrees through the wine and food science programs and the Robert Mondavi Food and Wine Institute. Many people may not know that U.C. Davis also has a fruitful exchange program with Jiangnan University, one of China's top food and beverage schools, according to the Sacramento Bee article.
The UC Davis program, which has applied for a $150,000 startup grant, will serve as a platform for trade collaboration with the Chinese food and beverage industry
The program is piloted by food science professor Charlie Shoemaker. Courses and tasting of Chinese delicacies may be planned. If you look at the program in San Diego, the Confucius Institute supplied 10 Chinese professors to teach Chinese language, calligraphy, meditation and qi gong on San Diego State's two campuses. Besides cooking, Sacramento could use a program teaching qi gong and traditional Chinese healing through mediation and exercises as part of a holistic health program. The institute is named after Confucius, was born in Shandong, China, near, Jinan, China, which happens to be Sacramento's sister city and the capital of Confucianism, famous for its steamed dumlings, noodles, and steamed breads. Most people sampling Chinese cuisine may not have realized that there are a wide variety of breads in China, as most Americans familiar with Chinese restaurant food are served rice instead of bread with meals.
As far as nutrition, there's going to be a cultural disagreement, perhaps between the nutritious value of brown rice and the familiar white rice served with the type of Chinese cuisine Americans usually are served in restaurants. White rice quickly turns to sugar in the blood, whereas brown rice has more micronutrients and vitamin B. See, Why is metabolic syndrome rising rapidly in vegetarian populations.
Plans for UC Davis also involve hosting Confucian-style banquets featuring sea cucumbers, fish, shrimp and abalone – delicacies Confucius probably ate in moderation.
Emphasis will be on Confucius's writings focusing on eating fresh foods for balance and harmony. Confucius culinary masters from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada and the U.S. will give demonstrations. There also will be classes on the psychology and anthropology of Chinese cuisine. Check out some of the food and wine events open to the public.
It's important to emphasize that you won't have to register for a degree in Chinese culinary arts to learn how Chinese food, life and society are intertwined. The focus is on treating food with respect, as you'd treat people, which Confucius emphasized in his writings. But people who are being served Chinese-style fast food in Sacramento need to keep asking for brown rice. If restaurants are asked often, perhaps they'll consider the option.
Brown rice has some vitamin A, vitamin C, or calcium. White rice does not have these vitamins in any significant amounts. The amount of iron that white rice will supply will likely be half of what brown rice can offer, and it will have less protein than brown rice.
Brown rice will offer 10 more calories for each serving and has four times as much fiber, as well as almost four times as many calories from fat as white rice. Both brown rice and white rice actually offer the same amount of carbohydrates per serving. Check out the articles, Study links white rice to Type 2 diabetes - The China Post and More white rice, more diabetes risk : Disease Proof.
Brown rice offers six times as much thiamin, three times as much riboflavin, five times as much niacin, twice as much vitamin B6, twice as much folate as white rice and offers such nutrients as vitamin K and betaine that white rice does not. Both types of rice offer the same amount of vitamin E and choline.
Go to any restaurant or fast-food eatery in any country, and chances are you'll be served white rice, unless you're in a specialized health-food type restaurant. It's what most people serve in their home until they are told why brown rice is more nutritious. See the article, Diabetes afflicting more in US Asian population - The Boston Globe. Also see the article, Brown rice and white rice? - Diabetes Daily. Can white rice contribute to type 2 diabetes? See the article, Why Brown Rice is Healthier.
Why are type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome rising so fast all over the world? Is anyone looking to see whether metabolic syndrome is rising rapidly in young or middle-aged urban police personnel, perhaps due to stress and diet? Metabolic syndrome is hitting policemen hard in India. And it's not only in India. The cheapest source of calories in these centers is white rice. Many healthcare workers believe that white rice is responsible for the diabetes epidemic globally.
In the Marshall Islands, 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii, you can read about children indulging in popsicles and soda or eating ramen noodles with Kool-Aid powder sprinkled on top for breakfast. Picture families dining on white rice, meat, and sweet beverages for lunch and dinner every day. What kind of meat? How about Spam, canned corned beef, chicken, fish, crab, octopus, and variety meats such as turkey tails or pig intestines? The diabetic and metabolic syndrome risks are spreading, according to the article, Defeating Diabetes: Lessons From the Marshall Islands.
What's the relationship between vegetarian diets and metabolic syndrome, if any? The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes is increasing globally at an alarming rate, according to the study, "Addressing the diabetes pandemic: a comprehensive approach."
Metabolic syndrome is rising in the USA as well and in Europe. So is type 2 diabetes? What's causing this global epidemic? Are people genetically changing or is the food?
Metabolic syndrome usually hits people with the genetic tendency to gain weight in the abdomen, who have high blood pressure, and issues with insulin. Are people eating too many foods that turn to sugar too fast in the bloodstream? Or are people changing genetically? Are there too many foods that turn to sugar too quickly in the diets of people around the world? What's the role of global fast foods, and are they similar to local fast foods, if the transfats and sugar in the foods play a role?
China and India have the highest diabetes rates in the world
Why does India, largely a vegetarian society, have the highest rate of type 2 diabetes in the world? But India has been vegetarian for centuries. Is it a combination of genetics and vegetarian? If so, then why is metabolic syndrome rising along with type 2 diabetes all over the world? Is it stress that points to metabolic syndrome? China also has a high diabetes rate. See the articles, Globalization of Diabetes, Eating white rice daily ups diabetes risk, study shows - HealthPop and White rice linked to diabetes.
Is vegetarianism creating high insulin in the blood streams of people eating a largely vegetarian diet? It's stress combined with the tendency to gain weight around the abdomen instead of of on the hips and thighs. It's about the waist-to-hip ratio. So it boils down to stress plus genetics. And also its about the type of vegetarian diets and the stress with the genetics.
Why is metabolic syndrome global in countries that eat more meat than vegetables? India is focused on because it has the highest diabetes rate in the world and is largely vegetarian. Is it balance, stress, genetics, or all of these pointing to the rising metabolic syndrome rate?
Why all of a sudden is metabolic syndrome in India is rising rapidly? Stress or changes in foods? Basically, in India, a largely vegetarian country, is it the stress getting to the policemen in urban settings rather people other than the police living in rural settings? And why in modern times? The area has been vegetarian for centuries. But metabolic syndrome is rapidly rising all over the world and especially locally. See the article, "Global Prevalence of Diabetes — Diabetes Care."
India leads the world with largest number of diabetic subjects thus earning it the dubious distinction of being termed the “Diabetes capital of the world.” See the article, "India is the diabetes capital of the world with 41 million." According to the Diabetes Atlas 2006 (see Diabetes Atlas) published by the International Diabetes Federation, the number of people with diabetes in India is currently around 40 million and this number is expected to rise to 70 million by 2025, unless urgent preventive steps are taken. See the article "High Prevalence of Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome Among Policemen." APICON, 2008. See the articles, "Daily Diabetic: India is Diabetes Capital of the World." See International Diabetes Federation (IDF)
The so called “Asian Indian Phenotype” refers to certain unique clinical and biochemical abnormalities in Indians which include increased insulin resistance, greater abdominal adiposity i.e., higher waist circumference despite lower body mass index, lower adiponectin and higher high sensitive C-reactive protein levels. See the article, "Abdominal obesity, visceral fat and type 2 diabetes- “Asian Indian Phenotype.” This phenotype makes Asian Indians more prone to diabetes and premature coronary artery disease. The only issue is why are those phenotypes also prevalent in Sacramento, among a diverse population eating perhaps similar foods?
Why is type 2 Diabetes A Major Cause of Mortality of Youth and Middle Aged People Globally?
During the past 30 years, the status of type 2 diabetes has changed from being considered a disorder of the elderly, to one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality affecting the youth and middle aged. It is important to note that the rise in prevalence is seen in all six inhabited continents of the globe. The major driver of the epidemic is the more common form of diabetes namely type 2 diabetes, which accounts more than 90% of all diabetic cases. See the article, "Metabolic syndrome--emerging clusters of the Indian phenotype."
Sacramento has a rapidly rising metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes rate among the young and middle-aged. So does India. And the rest of the world as well. Why? And why do these strike vegetarians eating a diet high in white rice, bread, and starchy plant-based foods?
In other countries, add even a small amount meat or fish to the diet, and in largely rice or bread-based societies, the risks of these health issues rise. It's similar to the risk of a higher cancer rate among mostly red-meat eaters globally. See the article, Red Meat Eaters More Likely to Die from Cancer or Heart Disease. Also see the article, Vegetarians Have Lower Cancer Risk Than Meat Eaters.
Could the risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes epidemic in part be increased by eating white rice instead of the more expensive brown rice? See the article, Waist circumference measurement identifies metabolic syndrome. In the case of white rice, there is nothing slowing it down causing a sudden spike in blood glucose. Is the overconsumption of white rice, bread, and soda in part causing the problems? See how high white is on the Glycemic Index.
White rice or any other carbohydrate does not cause type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. It's how your individual genes, your body's response to any combination of food reacts to your diet as a whole. It's an issue regarding risk. See the article, Will feeding mothers prevent the Asian metabolic syndrome epidemic?
It's also customary to eat white rice instead of brown rice in China. See the article, Study warns of growing Metabolic syndrome epidemic in China. How much carbohydrate does one need? Experts advise consuming about 50 to 60 percent of one’s total daily calories from carbohydrates, mostly complex carbohydrates, and no more than 30 percent of calories from fat. What happens to the rice polish with all the vitamin B contents or the rice bran? It's packaged and sold globally.
You can buy rice bran or rice polish in local health food stores. After the bran and polish are removed, you get the white rice, and that's what a lot of people are eating globally. Think how difficult it is to get served brown rice in any large, chain eatery in the world, including the USA. You'd have the same luck trying to find whole grain sprouted flourless no-yeast bread outside of the natural foods section of a market or in a health food store. It's about cost. But when rice first grows, it grows as brown rice. Somebody has to scrape off the vitamins from the rice.
What's in Brown Rice?
Brown rice has some vitamin A, vitamin C, or calcium. White rice does not have these vitamins in any significant amounts. The amount of iron that white rice will supply will likely be half of what brown rice can offer, and it will have less protein than brown rice.
Brown rice will offer 10 more calories for each serving and has four times as much fiber, as well as almost four times as many calories from fat as white rice. Both brown rice and white rice actually offer the same amount of carbohydrates per serving.
Brown rice offers six times as much thiamin, three times as much riboflavin, five times as much niacin, twice as much vitamin B6, twice as much folate as white rice and offers such nutrients as vitamin K and betaine that white rice does not. Both types of rice offer the same amount of vitamin E and choline.
Restricting Carbs is Not Recommended
Restricting total carbs to less than 130 grams per day is not recommended, according to the American Diabetes Association. Also, the National Academy of Sciences - Food and Nutrition Board recommended that diets provide 45 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates, with a minimum intake of 130 grams per day for adults.
Go to any restaurant or fast-food eatery in any country, and chances are you'll be served white rice, unless you're in a specialized health-food type restaurant. It's what most people serve in their home until they are told why brown rice is more nutritious. See the article, Diabetes afflicting more in US Asian population - The Boston Globe. Also see the article, Brown rice and white rice? - Diabetes Daily. Can white rice contribute to type 2 diabetes? See the article, Why Brown Rice is Healthier.
Why are type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome rising so fast all over the world? Is anyone looking to see whether metabolic syndrome is rising rapidly in young or middle-aged urban police personnel, perhaps due to stress and diet? Metabolic syndrome is hitting policemen hard in India. And it's not only in India. The cheapest source of calories in these centers is white rice. Many healthcare workers believe that white rice is responsible for the diabetes epidemic globally.
In the Marshall Islands, 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii, you can read about children indulging in popsicles and soda or eating ramen noodles with Kool-Aid powder sprinkled on top for breakfast. Picture families dining on white rice, meat, and sweet beverages for lunch and dinner every day. What kind of meat? How about Spam, canned corned beef, chicken, fish, crab, octopus, and variety meats such as turkey tails or pig intestines? The diabetic and metabolic syndrome risks are spreading, according to the article, Defeating Diabetes: Lessons From the Marshall Islands.
What's the relationship between vegetarian diets and metabolic syndrome, if any? The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes is increasing globally at an alarming rate, according to the study, "Addressing the diabetes pandemic: a comprehensive approach."
Resources
Study links white rice to Type 2 diabetes - The China Post
Abdominal obesity, visceral fat and type 2 diabetes- “Asian Indian Phenotype. In: Mohan V, Rao GHR (ed).
Metabolic syndrome - Emerging clusters of the Indian Phenotype
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