What’s behind the fever to cool food so that it fattens less

Something is changing in the kitchens, and I’m not talking about The arrival of the Cosori. Rather, those small, apparently insignificant decisions, which take shape between common foods. It is no longer enough to choose between integral or white rice, between mother’s bread or industrial slices. Now, the debate moves to temperature: have you cooled rice? Have you saved that pizza to reheat tomorrow?

What looks like a more domestic mania is, in fact, part of a silent revolution driven from social networks and backed – at least in part – by science: that of resistant starch.

From networks to the large intestine. The story begins in social networks and other corners of the influencer universe. They appear Videos cooling and overheating rice bowls and even ensuring that a pizza involved in the fridge becomes “healthy”. Everything is summarized in a promise: less glucose, less calories, more health.

Resistant starch? Let’s enter into matter so that it can be understood well. The starch It is a chain of molecules of glucose that some plants store as a source of energy. There are different ways of organizing those chains, and according to their structure – more or less accessible to our digestive enzymes – the body may digest it or not.

When foods rich in starch are cooked (such as pasta, potatoes or rice), heat causes a process called gelatinization: chains are messy and become more digestible. But if they get cooled later, part of those chains are reorganized in a new, more compact and difficult to break for our enzymes. That process is called retrogradation, and the resulting product is resistant starch.

This “reborn” starch reaches the large intestine without being absorbed. There it is fermented by the microbiota, producing beneficial compounds such as butyrate, a fundamental fatty acid for intestinal health, According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). Butirate not only feeds the intestine cells, it also protects the mucosa and can help prevent diseases such as colon cancer.

Is it really beneficial? Science partially supports enthusiasm. According to Cleveland Clinicresistant starch behaves similar to fiber: it helps maintain intestinal health, improves the composition of the microbiota and helps to regulate blood glucose. You have to differentiate in four types:

• Type 1: Present in legumes, whole grains and seeds. Its cell structure makes it inaccessible during digestion.
• Type 2: It is found in raw foods such as green banana or potato without cooking.
• Type 3: It is the one that forms when cooking and then cooling foods rich in starch (such as rice, pasta, bread or potato).
• Type 4: It is a chemically modified starch, present in processed products.

According to A meta -analysis cited in Scientedirectthese effects are more notable in types 1 and 2 of resistant starch (those present naturally in green legumes and bananas). Type 3, which is formed by cooling cooked foods, also seems to have benefits, although somewhat more modest.

It is not the philosopher’s diet. From Cleveland Clinic They have explained That resistant starch acts similarly to the fiber: it improves the microbiota, it can help regulate blood sugar and have positive effects on the immune system. However, There is no solid evidence that alone it helps to lose weight or reduce appetite, although it may have a light satious effect.

There may be risks. The part that does not always appear in the networks of networks is that cooling foods such as rice or potato can have microbiological risks if it is not done correctly. Specifically, the Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that survives cooking and produces toxins in food that spend a lot of time at room temperature after being cooked.

In a report from El País They have warned that the heating and cooling cycles – just those promoted to generate resistant starch – are perfect for this bacteria to activate. Basic recommendations:

• Cools food in less than an hour.
• Store it in the fridge and consume it at 24-48 hours.
• Reheat only once already high temperature.
• Never leave it several hours at room temperature.

In search of a balance. Is it worth eating more resistant starch? Science says yes, especially when it comes from integral foods, legumes, firm bananas or well -manipulated tubers. It has effects similar to fiber, helps microbiota and can be part of healthy eating.

Will you magically convert a pizza into salad? No. like We have explained in this mediumthe real effect on health is minimal if it is not accompanied by a context of healthy habits. The total diet and your lifestyle continue to weigh much more than a cycle of cold and heat on a plate of rice.

It may not be a revolution, but a track of where part of the current interest in food moves: look for more fiber, more microbiota, more glycemic control … and less ultrazúcar disguised. The resistant starch, by itself, will not convert ultraprocessed dishes into healthy or to replace a balanced diet, but can add – like so many other small decisions – to a more conscious way to eat.

Image | Unspash

Xataka | The spicy is proof that we can fight heat with “fire”