The GI value of food helps determine its impact on one's blood sugar levels
The glycemic index is an indicator which helps people with diabetes plan their meals. As you know, it is crucial for diabetics to maintain healthy blood sugar levels to prevent the complications associated with uncontrolled diabetes. Therefore, it is crucial to consume foods that can help naturally maintain healthy blood sugar levels and avoid foods which can cause a spike. But how can one determine the impact of food consumed on their blood sugar levels? That's exactly where the glycemic index helps. Glycemic Index (GI) is a tool which helps in better blood sugar management. The GI value of food helps determine its impact on one's blood sugar levels. Foods are classified as low, medium and high glycemic foods. A food item with low GI will have less impact on your blood sugar levels. On the other hand, high GI foods will impact your blood sugar levels and should be avoided if you have diabetes.
Rice is one such food which can have a medium to high GI depending upon the cooking time and type of rice you are using. Rice is a common grain which many eat daily and is hard to avoid. But do you know you can lower down the GI of rice with a simple hack? Let's find out how.
Diabetes: This is how you can reduce the GI of cooked rice
Celebrity nutritionist Pooja Makhija shared an Instagram reel and explained the hack that can help lower the GI of cooked rice.
"One day old cooked refrigerated, stale rice is better than piping hot freshly cooked rice," she said at the beginning of the video.
Later she added that several clinical studies have proven that cooling cooked starch causes a process known as starch retrogradation which converts it into resistant starch.
"In simple words, when you cool high starch foods such as cooked rice or potato, you convert the digestible starch into resistant starch. Digestible starch is the one your body breaks down and your blood sugar level rises. Resistant starch is the one that your body cannot break down and it is not bad for you. It is actually what is known as prebiotic that feeds the gut flora," Makhija said in the video.
So, it can be concluded that rice cooked a day before is good for your blood sugar levels as well as improves your gut health.
How long should you refrigerate?
Makhija added that cooked rice kept in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then reheated and eaten has a far lower GI than freshly cooked piping hot rice.
"This is a very simple hack that diabetics and women with PCOS can try," she concluded.
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