Experts share tips on turning rice into a superfood

Food scientists have found a great trick to make eating rice healthier.

While looking for ways to slow the digestion of refined carbohydrates, scientists made a surprising discovery: There's a super nutrient hidden inside rice.

That’s resistant starch. Studies have found that eating more resistant starch has a myriad of health benefits. From improving gut health, reducing inflammation in the body to increasing insulin sensitivity. Notably, research published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Nutrition found that resistant starch helps control blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

And the good news is: You can create resistant starch right from your daily bowl of rice.

You can create resistant starch right from your daily bowl of rice.

Photo: AI

Turn fast-digesting carbohydrates into slow-digesting ones

Once cooked, rice contains chains of sugar molecules, which are easily digestible starches. When eaten, enzymes in the saliva and stomach quickly break these chains down, releasing large amounts of sugar into the intestines. That sugar then quickly enters the bloodstream.

So, instead of eating hot rice right after cooking, let it cool in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 6-8 hours). Then the magic will happen, said microbiologist Maria Marco, from the Department of Food Science, University of California (USA).

As rice cools, some of the sugar chains change. They stick together, making them harder to digest. And when you eat them, enzymes can't break them down into sugars anymore. So less sugar is released into your blood. These twisted chains are called resistant starch.

Eating cold rice this way usually does not cause a rapid and high increase in blood sugar as eating hot rice that has just been cooked. When eaten, resistant starch passes directly through the small intestine into the colon.

This tip can also be applied to other easily digestible starchy foods like noodles and potatoes.

Microbiologist Ravinder Nagpal from Florida State University (USA) said: You can reheat cooled rice before eating, just heat it briefly, heat it quickly in the microwave, but do not cook it again because it will lose a large amount of resistant starch, according to NPR.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-gia-chi-meo-hay-bien-com-thanh-sieu-thuc-pham-185250620202531949.htm