Managing Blood Sugar Made Easier: "If You Are Going to Eat Rice, Try Eating It This Way"

The habit of leaving rice cooked in an electric rice cooker on the keep-warm setting and eating it as is may not be ideal for blood sugar control. Some studies have shown that if you cool the rice once and then eat it, the amount of "resistant starch" increases and helps mitigate spikes in blood sugar.

Unlike regular starch, resistant starch is a type of starch that is mostly not broken down in the small intestine. It reaches the large intestine and is fermented there by gut microbes.

Starch is classified into three types according to how fast it is digested: rapidly digestible starch (RDS), which is digested quickly; slowly digestible starch (SDS), which is digested slowly; and resistant starch (RS), which is poorly digested.

Cooked rice. Pixabay

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Most starch is broken down into glucose in the small intestine and rapidly raises blood sugar, but RS is not digested and moves on to the large intestine, where it can help reduce the rise in blood sugar after meals. It is also known to have a positive effect on gut health by acting as a prebiotic that serves as food for beneficial gut bacteria.

To obtain RS, it is necessary to cool the food once after cooking. When starch-rich foods such as rice, potatoes, or pasta are refrigerated and then reheated, part of the starch structure changes and is converted into RS.

According to a study published in the international journal of nutrition and diabetes, "Nutrition & Diabetes," a research team at Sichuan University in China conducted a meta-analysis of 13 clinical studies and found that RS intake tended to improve fasting blood glucose and insulin resistance indices. Insulin sensitivity increased, and RS intake was also associated with reductions in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and LDL cholesterol levels.

A research team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine also reported that RS formed when carbohydrates such as rice, bread, pasta, and potatoes are cooked, cooled, and then reheated helps prevent sharp spikes in blood sugar and serves as food for beneficial gut bacteria.

The Johns Hopkins researchers said, "It is best to boil rice, potatoes, beans, and pasta a day before eating and leave them in the refrigerator overnight to cool," adding, "The amount of RS does not decrease even if you reheat them before eating." They also explained that RS can help maintain satiety for longer and aid in the prevention and relief of constipation.

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