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"Rice cakes" and "eight treasure rice" have amazing blood sugar boosting ability, and before eating them, eat more high-fiber, high-protein foods, such as vegetables and soy products, and do not heat them repeatedly.
Among the traditional Chinese staple foods, there is a particularly delicious one, which is characterized by stickiness, will pull silk when bitten with the mouth, and the taste is dense and soft, which makes people top-up.
Most of these staple foods are special foods of traditional festivals, such as rice cakes, rice dumplings, eight treasure rice, fifteen Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and so on... It's a drool to think about.
This year, many merchants have launched the "Flowing Heart Eight Treasure Rice", which is so delicious that it can't stop.
Why are these things so delicious?
Why are they delicious?
We call the ingredients used to make them "sticky grains," such as glutinous rice and yellow rice (called "millet" in ancient Chinese).
After all, sticky grain is still a grain, and the main component of grain is starch.
So why is white rice also starchy, and it is not as sweet and soft as glutinous rice and yellow rice when chewed?
This is because starch can be divided into amylose and amylopectin according to the number and structure of glucose molecules in it.
The amylose molecule contains fewer glucose molecules, and the glucose molecules are arranged linearly and are very closely connected. This structure makes amylose less absorbent and slower when hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes.
Schematic diagram of amylose structure, glucose is linearly connected, and it is mostly spiral-shaped in space
The pullulan molecule contains more glucose molecules, and the structure between glucose is like branch bifurcation, and the connection is relatively loose. Therefore, amylopectin is easy to absorb water when heated, expands into a paste, and is also faster when it is hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes. [1]
Schematic diagram of the structure of amylopectin, and glucose is connected in a manner like branch bifurcation
Glutinous rice contains more amylopectin than regular rice (in fact, most of the starch in glutinous rice is amylopectin), so glutinous rice is more likely to become fluffy and softer than rice at the same moisture and temperature.
What happens after eating?
The blood sugar response is staggering
Eating more fluffy and soft also means it's easier to absorb by the body. Another meaning that is easily absorbed by the human body is that blood sugar will rise very quickly after eating.
A 2016 study by the first author by my acquaintance found that for the two different varieties of glutinous rice, glutinous rice and indica glutinous rice, the glycemic index of steamed glutinous rice was as high as 94.42 and 84.47, respectively, and the rice cake made had a glycemic index of 125.47 and 110.87, which was faster than eating glucose directly. [2]
Moreover, the rice cake used in this study did not add other sugars, and only the simplest way of cooking was used.
The rice cake snacks we eat are often wrapped in a layer of sugar, and may be fried in hot oil, and the ability to eventually raise blood sugar is simply exploding!
As for the eight treasure rice soaked in lard, the red bean paste fried with sugar...
Ordinary people occasionally eat two bites, even if it is not enough, diabetics, or people who want to control blood sugar for weight control, skin management, etc., especially need to be vigilant!
Easy to inflate
In addition to the amazing blood sugar response, these sweet glutinous dots are also easy to eat.
After the grain is cooked, the starch inside will "gelatinize". Gelatinization from a microscopic point of view is that starch molecules enter the solution, so that the viscosity of the entire system is greatly increased.
Sticky grain products such as rice cakes, rice sticks, and eight treasure rice are denser than ordinary rice steamed buns after gelatinization, and more starch will be eaten in the same volume.
Secondly, even if you eat the same amount of carbohydrates, glutinous rice flour can provide a stronger feeling of fullness than white rice. [3] Rice cakes have a stronger feeling of fullness than sticky rice. [2] So I didn't seem to eat much, and after a while I felt that my stomach was very bloated and very supportive.
Therefore, people with weak gastrointestinal function, such as the elderly, should not eat more.
So how should I eat it?
5 small recommendations
First of all, it should be clear that delicious rice cakes, rice dumplings, and eight treasure rice are not healthy, and you can eat less or less.
But on the occasion of the New Year's Celebration, it is really difficult to resist the temptation of sweetness and softness, so I have come up with the following 5 tips for you:
Family and friends share together, see the sweet harvest, more than every year.
Before eating them, eating high-fiber, high-protein foods, such as vegetables and soy products, can slow down the rise in blood sugar. Chinese New Year's Eve rice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions makes some sense that babao rice is the last dish.
Reduce staple food intake accordingly. Although they are desserts, they are essentially starchy. If you can't help but eat a whole Eight Treasures meal alone in the afternoon, please think twice about whether to eat dinner.
Rice cakes and rice dumplings are directly used as staple foods, and it is also good to replace rice and noodles. Zhejiang's seafood rice cake soup is very delicious and healthier than frying and frying. But don't eat too much, remember to accompany vegetables.
Do not heat repeatedly. Glutinous rice (pullulan) is not like rice (amylose) can regenerate, repeated heating will further increase the degree of gelatinization, blood glucose reaction will be further aggravated. [4]
Delicious without greed, leave more sweetness for the coming days~
References: (2019.1.9)
[1] Li Yong, Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Peking University Medical Press, 2005
Pan Haikun,Wang Shuying,Fan Zhihong. Evaluation of postprandial blood glucose and satiety in glutinous processed foods[J].Food Science,2016,37(17):225-229.
Wang Shuying,Fan Zhihong,Zeng Yue,Liu Fang,Liu Bo. Effects of different rice on postprandial blood glucose and satiety response[J].Acta Nutrition Sinica,2013,35(03):236-240.
I have prepared one for everyone
"Very nutritious" red envelope cover~