REDUCE THE CARB CONTENT OF RICE BY ALTERING COOKING METHOD

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:

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science/Changing-how-rice-is-cooked-could-cut-calories

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/03/low-calorie-healthy-rice-resistant-starch

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/resistant-starch-white-rice-1472.html

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