A claim has been circulating online recently: diabetics can avoid blood sugar spikes by eating cooled starchy foods like noodles, potatoes, and rice. Experts point out that while cooled foods do have a lower sugar content, they are not good for your health.
The explanation offered online for this claim is that starch is divided into "rapidly digestible starch," "slowly digestible starch," and "resistant starch." Resistant starch is digested the slowest in the body and has properties similar to soluble fiber, mostly passing through the intestines and providing very few calories. It is believed that cooling food can produce more resistant starch, which is why many people think eating it cooled can reduce the intake of sugar and calories.
In response, He Jiguo, head of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, explained that starchy foods do indeed undergo starch retrogradation and become modified starch after cooling, leading to a decrease in sugar content. However, from a scientific standpoint, this method is not recommended for diabetics. This is because the modified starch is not easily digested, is difficult to break down once it enters the bloodstream, and there is also the risk of other microbes forming, which is detrimental to health. Diabetics should still follow the principle of total control; they should not over-consume starchy foods. For example, if you eat a lot of potatoes, you should reduce your intake of other staple foods, rather than resorting to such "tricks" to eat more by cooling them down.