You can make the rice white and the pasta more nutritious. Here's how: NPR

Naughty or nice? This is often how I think of foods filled with carbohydrates. Whole grains, such as brown rice and whole wheat, fall squarely in the beautiful category, while white pasta and rice, well, they are wicked.

“They are mean, in a sense, because we digest them quickly and this creates a rapid increase in blood sugar,” explains the nutritionist Mindy PattersonAt Texas Woman's University in Houston. They are also low in fiber and protein, compared to their whole grain cousins.

Over time, all of these rapid sustainable overvoltages of blood sugar can harm your health, says Patterson. They can contribute to insulin resistance and let you be tired.

“If we do not have these points and these hollows in our blood sugar, then we tend to have more energy and to feel better,” she said. These peaks are particularly problematic for people with diabetes. Over time, they can cause stroke or heart disease accidents, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Renal Diseases.

But what happens if there is a way to make the carbohydrates naughty a little more beautiful? Over the past decade, food scientists have found a way to help people digest more slowly refined carbohydrates. In the process, they discovered a surprise: a super nutrient hidden inside white pasta and white rice.

It's called Resistant starch. Studies have shown that eating more resistant starch is accompanied by a myriad of health benefits. This can improve intestinal healthlower Inflammation in your body and improve Sensitivity to insulin. And for people with diabetes, this helps managing blood sugar, A meta-analysis In Borders in nutrition find.

And here is the good news: you can create this supernutrient in your own kitchen. All you have to do, says Patterson is cook the rice or pasta, then cool it.

Transform rapid carbohydrates into slower carbohydrates

Take white rice as an example. After cooking it, the small white grains contain chains of sugar molecules, known as the digestible starch. The enzymes of our saliva and the stomach quickly tear these channels, releasing a lot of sugar in your intestine. This sugar then quickly rushes into our blood.

Digestible starch + our enzymes ===> SUGAR

Now, instead of eating hot and smoking rice immediately after cooking, let's say that you take it and put it in the refrigerator during the night (or for at least six to eight o'clock). So something almost magical happens, says Microbiologist Maria MarcoWho chairs the diploma in food sciences at UC Davis.

As hot rice cools, some of these sugar chains are transformed. They remain together in a way that no longer makes them digestible.

“The chains form twisted shapes and different branches,” says Marco, “and our enzymes can no longer reach them.”

This means that our enzymes can no longer tear the chains. We cannot release their sugar molecules. So less sugar rushes into our blood. These twisted channels are Called resistant starch (because they “resist” in digestion).

Resistant starch ===> no sugar

So when you eat cold and remaining rice, it generally does not increase your bloody as fast and high as hot and freshly cooked rice, Studies have revealed. The resistant starch passes just through our small intestine in our colon. (And if you don't like the sound of eating cold rice, keep reading – you can quickly warm it up.)

Now, if you think about it, scientists have a special name for carbohydrates that we cannot digest: fiber. It is a super important nutrient that Marco says that most of us do not have enough. “It is so difficult to eat enough fiber,” she said. “I find it hard to eat enough.”

Just by refreshing the white rice cooked during the night, you took a food with little fiber and created one with a decent quantity.

The same tip works with any food that contains digestible starch, including white pasta and potatoes. Thus, a salad of refrigerated potatoes (or a salad of pasta) will not increase your blood sugar as quickly as a freshly cooked potato (or a sizzling spaghetti), explains Patterson.

“Just make sure to use olive oil instead of mayonnaise,” she said.

The frightening tip also works with these “beautiful” carbohydrates, including whole pasta, oats, barley, beans and lenses – which makes them even healthier. “We found that Lima beans have the most resistant starch in all foods,” said Patterson.

Advantages beyond the bathroom

Like all fibers, resistant starch will help keep your stools regular. But it also plays another essential role to keep you healthy, explains the microbiologist Ravinder Nagpal to Florida State University. “It promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in your lower intestine.”

Although human enzymes cannot digest resistant starch, the microbes of our large intestines can separate it. This is called a prebiotic or food for our microbiome.

“Resistant starch is one of their favorite foods,” said Nagpal. “It is the most important starch for the health of your microbiome.”

When these critters eat resistant starch, they create smaller molecules This helps our body in an innumerable way.

“These molecules are good for our intestinal cells and also for global metabolic health,” he said. They reduce inflammation, stimulation immunity and reduce your Risk of colon cancer. These molecules also help keep you satisfied between mealsNagpal underlines. “They therefore also help weight management.”

How to add an starch more resistant to your diet

Nagpal says you don't have to eat the cold grains, you can warm them-do it gently, quickly in the microwave, “or fry slightly,” he said. Do not collect it because then you will lose a bunch of resistant starch.

Nagpal likes to make a big batch of rice on weekends and store it in the refrigerator.

“Each day, I take a small bowl of rice and mix it with yogurt or my favorite vegetables,” he explains. “Or sometimes I fried it slightly with fish, beans, green vegetables, peas or whatever my favorite ingredients available.”

You can do the same with potatoes or sweet potatoes, he said. Cook them in a jackpot, keep them in the refrigerator, then for a meal, cut a piece you want and mix it with garnishes, such as cheese or sure cream.

To add resistant breakfast starch, nagpal says, simply soak oat or another whole grain in milk and water overnight. Don't cook them at all. “Then the next morning or the next morning, mix it with fruit or yogurt. It works perfectly.”

So, are the refrigerated remains better for you than the freshly prepared dishes? “Yes, absolutely,” said Nagpal with a little laugh. In fact, he eats them almost every day.

Published by Jane Greenhalgh