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Enjoy Rice Without The Blood Sugar Spikes With This Easy Way To Prepare It
While rice is typically a go-to grain, its impact on blood sugar can leave some of us looking for alternatives. It's notorious for causing glucose spikes due to its high content of rapidly digestible starch.
When consumed, this type of starch breaks down quickly, leading to blood sugar surges.
However, research reveals that changing how you cook white rice can make it much more blood-sugar-friendly—and even better for your gut.
Cooling your rice = more resistant starch
When rice is cooked and then cooled, its structure changes through a process called retrogradation. This increases the amount of resistant starch, which your body digests much more slowly than regular starch. The slower digestion means less dramatic glucose spikes after meals.
A meta-analysis found that cooling rice significantly increased resistant starch by 4.17 grams per 100 grams while reducing rapidly digestible starch by 7.09 grams per 100 grams—a win for stable blood sugar levels.
The coconut oil trick
Adding coconut oil to rice while cooking slows glucose release even further by creating what's called an amylose-lipid complex. This structure makes it harder for digestive enzymes to break down the starch, promoting more gradual glucose release into the bloodstream.
The research tested three methods:
- Stir-frying uncooked rice with coconut oil before steaming.
- Adding oil to the rice water during steaming.
- Stir-frying the steamed rice with coconut oil, then refrigerating it for 12 hours.
The best method for lower glucose release
The study found method three worked best: Frying the rice after cooking and refrigerating it created a tightly bonded crystalline starch structure, significantly reducing glucose release.
The gut health bonus
Interestingly, adding coconut oil before cooking rice showed a surprising prebiotic benefit. It encouraged the growth of Lacticaseibacillus casei and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, beneficial gut bacteria that support digestion and overall gut health.
The takeaway
To make your rice more glucose-friendly, start by cooking it as you normally would. Once it's fully cooked, stir-fry it with about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil per half cup of rice. Afterward, refrigerate the rice for at least 12 hours before serving to allow the resistant starch to fully form.
This simple tweak makes rice friendlier for your blood sugar and may even benefit your gut health. So go ahead and enjoy your rice the smarter way.
