Imagine being able to enjoy rice without seeing a huge spike in your blood sugar. Sounds impossible, right? Well, not anymore! Dr. Terry Shintani, a nutritionist trained at Harvard, has come up with a surprisingly easy way to cut the glycemic index (GI) of common carbs by as much as 50%. This could really change the game for managing blood sugar and overall health.
But first, what exactly is glycemic index? Carbohydrates are a fundamental part of our diet, found in foods like bread, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. Once consumed, these carbs are broken down into simple sugars that enter the bloodstream, affecting blood sugar levels differently depending on the type. For instance, having a cookie in the morning can lead to a quick sugar spike, making you crave more carbs.
The glycemic index measures how fast particular carbs raise blood sugar in comparison to glucose. High-GI foods cause fast spikes in blood sugar, while low-GI options release energy more slowly, aiding in better blood sugar management.
Dr. Shintani has proposed a simple strategy to lower the GI of staples like rice, bread, and pasta. He suggests cooling cooked carbs and reheating them. “Yes, you really can cut the glycemic index by up to 50%,” he mentioned in an Instagram video.
For example, cooling rice overnight in the fridge before reheating can drop its glycemic index significantly, from 78 to 54. If you prefer toast in the morning, freezing it before toasting can also lessen the blood sugar impact. He notes this method could decrease the GI by nearly 39%.
Moreover, for potatoes, this technique could result in a reduction of 30-40% in GI, and with pasta, chilling and reheating may lower it by up to 50%.
So, what happens during this cooling process? Essentially, heating and cooling causes some of the starch to transform into resistant starches, which in turn slows down digestion and regulates sugar release into the bloodstream. Dr. Shintani encourages everyone to try this simple method with their carbs for better blood sugar control.
