Eat Carbs & Lose Weights?!?

Are you a carb lover like I am?

Pasta, potatoes, rice... YUM YUM YUM!

But with eating these things, we can start to feel sluggish. And gain weight.

What if there was a way to eat these same things but instead of it being harmful, they actually become beneficial? 

Let me explain.

Not all carbs are created equal.

Carbohydrates are made up of three components: fiber, starch, and sugar.

Typically, fiber and starch are complex carbs (good for you), while sugar is a simple carb (bad for you). 

Let's take it one step further. 

- Normal starches are broken down into glucose and absorbed. This is why your blood glucose, or blood sugar, increases after eating.

- Resistant starch is resistant to digestion, so it passes through the intestines without being broken down by your body.

Resistant starches are good for you for 5 main reasons.

1. It's a prebiotic.

2. It gives you good energy.

3. It decreases inflammation.

4. It doesn't spike your blood sugar (blood sugar spikes make you gain weight, increase chances for diabetes, causes an "energy crash" etc).

5. It keeps you fuller longer.

The coolest part of this?!?!

Cooling some foods after cooking them INCREASES the resistant starch!

It actually changes the structure.

Which means, if you eat a potato hot, it spikes your blood sugar.

If you eat it cold, it doesn't.

Pretty cool huh??

So how exactly does that work?

One type of resistant starch is formed when foods are cooled after cooking.

This process is called starch retrogradation (14, 15Trusted Source).

It occurs when some starches lose their original structure due to heating or cooking. If these starches are later cooled, a new structure is formed (16Trusted Source).

*The new structure is resistant to digestion and leads to health benefits.*

What’s more, research has shown that resistant starch remains higher after reheating foods that have previously been cooled (17Trusted Source). 

Through these steps, resistant starch may be increased in common foods, such as potatoes, rice and pasta....

In summary...

Cook your carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta). Let them cool for a day or two. Then eat them cold or reheat them.

They become a health food instead of a splurge food!

Other sources of resistant starch include potatoes, green bananas, legumes, cashews and oats.

Sources: 

healthline.com/nutrition/cooling-resistant-starch#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/simple-carbohydrates-complex-carbohydrates#carbs-to-eat-more-of