Think twice before you eat that rice!

We have always been encouraged to eat our fruits and vegetables because of their excellence source in essential vitamins and minerals. But we have never been told that these same plants could be held responsible for the alterations in our genes. In this article, researchers at the Nanjing University have found MicroRNAs from plants floating in our blood. Then you say to yourself, "Big deal? I have some leftover RNA. Why does it matter?" These MicroRNAs (miRNA) actually affect and alter your gene expressions. The researchers noticed miRNA found in rice common in the blood of many because rice is a staple of many Asian culture diets. This miRNA lowered the level of receptors that filtered out LDL (bad cholesterol) by binding to the receptor's RNA and preventing it from being expressed. This causes an increase in the bad cholesterol in the body! Who would have thought that something as healthy as rice could actually cause the body to become unhealthy? I found this article really interesting because of the way the researchers approached the discovery and the way they tested their hypothesis. The discovery may cause many to change their diet plans and what they eat.