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Don't 'Eat Soft, Not Hard': Expert Reveals How Cooking Starches Raises Blood Sugar Faster

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Cooking methods significantly impact how quickly starches raise blood sugar levels, with softer, more processed forms leading to faster absorption.
  • Techniques like overcooking, pureeing, or puffing starches make them easier to digest, potentially causing blood sugar spikes.
  • While cooked starches should be refrigerated for safety, cooling them can create resistant starch, potentially offering a different blood sugar response.

Cooking starches too soft or processing them into purees and powders can cause blood sugar to spike faster, according to nutritionist Yang Ssu-han. She explained that the "softer, more processed" the starch, the quicker it is digested and absorbed.

Yang, who shared her insights on her Facebook page "Nutritionist Yang Ssu-han's Delicious Life," warned that overcooking, mashing, pureeing, or puffing starches can accelerate digestion. Examples include turning white rice into congee, cooking noodles very soft, mashing potatoes, or making red bean paste. She advised that individuals sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations should pay close attention to portion sizes and food pairings.

Softer, more processed forms can lead to faster absorption.

— Yang Ssu-hanExplaining how cooking methods affect blood sugar response.

She also noted that smaller food particles increase the surface area for digestive enzymes, leading to faster digestion. This means whole fruits are generally better than juice, and chunks of sweet potato are preferable to sweet potato puree. While pureeing doesn't eliminate nutrients, it can alter satiety and blood sugar responses due to reduced chewing and damaged food structure.

The smaller the food particles, the larger the surface area for digestive enzymes, usually leading to faster digestion.

— Yang Ssu-hanDescribing the impact of particle size on digestion.

Processed foods like rice cakes, breakfast cereals, and instant grain powders often undergo pre-gelatinization, puffing, or flattening. These methods enhance convenience but can make starches easier to break down. Yang cautioned that "whole grain" or "low-fat" labels don't automatically mean a product is better for blood sugar control.

Additionally, adding ample water and cooking for extended periods can further gelatinize starches. The texture of cooked rice, for instance, varies from dry to soft to congee, affecting digestion speed. For those managing blood sugar, retaining texture and promoting chewing is generally more beneficial than creating a completely mushy consistency.

These processing methods can make starches easier to break down.

— Yang Ssu-hanDiscussing processed foods like rice cakes and cereals.

Yang also mentioned that some starches form resistant starch when cooled after cooking. Reheating them might alter the post-meal blood sugar response compared to eating them freshly cooked. However, she stressed the importance of food safety, recommending prompt refrigeration of cooked rice and starches and thorough reheating before consumption to avoid food poisoning risks.

Retaining particles and chewing is usually more ideal than cooking into a completely gelatinized state.

— Yang Ssu-hanAdvising on ideal starch textures for blood sugar control.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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