Foods like potatoes, rice, and pasta are a staple of diets all over the world. They are easily digested for ready energy, and they’re generally cheap and filling.
I know people who avoid these foods because they are carbohydrates, may affect blood sugar, or foil our attempts to lose weight, but that thinking is somewhat misguided. Starchy foods can be part of a healthy diet if you keep two things in mind, namely processing and preparation.
There are two kinds of starches found in carbohydrate-rich foods. The kind of starch found in highly processed foods like potato chips and white bread is called rapidly digested starch or RDS.
Because it is fully digested in the small intestine it turns into blood sugar more quickly. You may also be tempted to eat more of these foods because they taste good but are not very satisfying.
The other type of starch is called resistant starch. This is the kind found in unprocessed foods like whole grains, some vegetables, and beans. Resistant starch is only partially digested in the small intestine and travels all the way to the large intestine where it is broken down by the microbes in your gut. This slower digestion and transit time keeps blood sugar more even.
Preparation applies to how starches are served and how they are cooked. Starches are naturally low in calories, because they are a carbohydrate; only four calories per gram as compared to nine calories per gram for fat. Therefore, the potato is not to blame for being fattening if we load it up with butter, cheese, sour cream, and bacon.
You might be happy to know that when foods containing rapidly digested starch are cooked and then cooled, a chemical reaction occurs that turns some of the RDS into resistant starch so you can enjoy them with less of a blood sugar spike. When the food is reheated, it does not convert back to RDS.
I thought I would share my favorite way to cook rice as it takes advantage of this concept. I cook a large batch of rice this way to keep it in the refrigerator or to freeze for later meals. This method works like a charm for anyone who struggles with rice on the stove top.
Oven Baked Brown Rice
- 2 cups long grain brown rice
- 3 cups boiling water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread rice in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan. Pour the boiling water over the rice, give it a quick stir and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before removing the foil. Cool and refrigerate or freeze. Will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Sherry DeWalt is the healthy lifestyles coordinator for the CGH Health Foundation in Sterling.