Cool Your Carbs!
Want to lessen the glycemic impact of carbs like potato and rice? Read on to find out how!
Remember the joys of eating freshly-roasted potatoes? The days before carbs like potatoes, rice and legumes were evil, guilt-inducing, blood sugar-spiking, insulin-surging contraband?
If you have been avoiding carbs, this will change your life!!!!
This bowl of delicious roast potatoes tossed in dukkha would sadly be classified as "off limits" by many carb-conscious folk, but before you avert your eyes and divert your focus to "healthier" foods, read on. Because these are extra special potatoes you are going to want to read about and maybe even make yourself!
You see, there is a way to lessen the impact of potatoes (and other "carby" foods like rice and legumes) on blood sugar and insulin, and in the process turn them into food for the beneficial bacteria in our bodies!!
The process is called Retrogradation. That's just a fancy term for cooking and then cooling your carbs!
When you cool your cooked carbs for 12-24 hours it generates molecular changes within them, converting the carbs/starches within them to Resistant Starch, which is no longer digestible in your small intestine so your blood sugar won't spike! Instead the undigested Resistant Starch travels to your large intestine where it becomes food for the beneficial bacteria that live there - a double benefit!
Once you have cooked and chilled your potatoes (or rice, or legumes!) you can eat them cold, or reheat them. Reheating can reduce the glycemic impact even further!
Stories about this have been circulating around social media recently, and while it seems to good to be true I can assure you it's legit - I learned about Retrogradation and Resistant Starch in my first semester of my Masters in Nutrition.
It's the best way to enjoy carbs without the guilt!
Next Friday I'll be sharing my ABSOLUTE FAVE delicious "carby" recipe, which I prepare this way to minimise its glycemic load.