Soaring rice prices in recent months have triggered panic buying in places such as Penang and Viet Nam, leaving empty supermarket shelves where bags of rice used to sit.

Other crops have been affected too and economists blame the whopping worldwide increase in prices to various factors, including the use of crops to produce biofuel, extreme weather affecting production, increase in demand and the relative lack of new investment in agriculture over the past decades.

The rising food prices have prompted United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to order a top-level taskforce to take on this global crisis. And on 1 May, the United States announced that it would provide a US$770 million (S$1 billion) emergency food aid package for poor countries.

Closer to home, Thailand recently proposed an 'Opec-style' rice cartel with other Southeast Asian producers in order to have more control over the price of rice. But the idea fell through after criticism from analysts, traders, the Philippines and even some Thai rice exporters.

Swept up in the global flurry, Singapore's rice prices have not been able to escape the upward pull. A Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) survey this year found that from March 1 to April 28, various rice brands have risen in prices, from 10 per cent to 44 per cent.

With inflation hitting a 26-year high of 6.7 per cent in March, many Singaporeans now have no choice but to adjust their spending habits.

Luxuries can be forgone but a staple like rice is a necessity as it is our main source of carbohydrates.

"Carbohydrates are an important source of energy for our daily activities," said Lim Meng Thiam, a nutritionist from the Health Promotion Board.

After carbohydrates enter our body in the form of food, they are broken down into glucose, a simple sugar.

"Glucose can be used immediately by the body cells, or stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen," said Lim.

"Glucose is required by all cells in the body to produce energy, and it is also the primary source of energy for the brain."

Although carbohydrates are not essential nutrients, an insufficient carbohydrate intake may be detrimental to the body.

"Glucose can still be made from protein and fats. However, the processes involved are not efficient and can be potentially harmful," said Lim.

"Using protein to make glucose means that the protein from food can't be used for functions that only protein can perform, like building and repairing body tissues."

A lack of carbohydrates can also be dangerous as "the breakdown of fat for energy can lead to ketosis", he said. "This condition may cause weakness, headaches and irritability."

Carbohydrates can also be roughly classified into two groups, simple ('bad') carbohydrates and complex ('good') carbohydrates.

While simple carbohydrates, such as white bread and pasta, raise the blood sugar levels quickly and drastically, complex carbohydrates, such as oatmeal and whole wheat bread, take longer to digest. So they keep you feeling full longer.

Since much of our daily activity is fuelled by the energy derived from carbohydrates, it would be difficult to cut rice completely out of most Asian diets.

"However, there are alternatives which include other grain products that are also rich in starch, for example, oats, noodles, beehoon, bread and chapati, as well as starchy vegetables such as potato and yam," said Lim.

These other sources of carbohydrates can provide similar nutritional content to rice, while introducing more variety into the diet.

So, next time you're at the supermarket lamenting the sudden price increases, why not buy less rice and try something different? (The Straits Times/ ANN)