Researchers
have found that making simple changes to the way rice is cooked can lower its
calorie content, by converting some of its digestible starch to a type of
starch that our gut enzymes cannot break down.
Rice
is made up of both digestible starch and starch that cannot be digested, called
resistant starch. When starchy foods
such as potato, rice, and pasta are cooled after cooking, some of the
digestible starch becomes resistant starch, thus reducing the calorie and carbohydrate
load of the food. In this study, researchers
experimented with different cooking and cooling methods to maximize the
conversion of rice starch to resistant starch. When they added half cup of white uncooked
rice (not quick-cooking or fortified rice) to boiling water with a teaspoon of
coconut oil (but other oils likely work similarly), then simmered (instead of
boiling) the rice for 40 minutes, and then refrigerated the rice for 12 hours,
the resistant starch in the rice increased 10-fold. Briefly reheating the cooled rice for
consumption did not decrease the resistant starch content.
How
can such a simple change in cooking methods result in a lower-calorie
food? When rice is cooked with oil, the
oil penetrates the starch granules, changing the structure of the granules making
it harder for our digestive enzymes to break them down. And, when cooled, amylose,
the soluble part of the starch, leaves the granules during gelatinization. During the extended cooling period, the
liberated amylose forms bonds that cannot be digested.
Resistant
starches are also beneficial because they fuel the healthy bacteria in our
colons. When consumed by the bacteria, they
produce healthy substances nourish the intestinal cells and result in improved
insulin resistance, immune function, mineral absorption.
What to do: To reduce the starch content of carbs like
potato, rice, and pasta, try cooking and cooling the items for a day before
reheating or enjoying them cold.
Supplementing with resistant starches such as unmodified raw potato starch
(e.g. Bob’s Red Mill Unmodified Potato Starch), plantain flour, green banana flour, and cassava/tapioca starch has
been found to help reduce insulin resistance and blood sugar spikes after
meals. For best results take the resistant starch with water 30 minutes before meals.
To prevent gas and bloating, start by supplementing with 1 teaspoon once
a day and gradually increase to 1 tablespoon three times per day.
Adapted
from articles available at:
Source:
James
S et al. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) resistant starch and novel processing methods to
increase resistant starch concentration.
249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical
Society, March 2015. Press release & abstract available at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/acs-nlr021915.php
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