In the news: Healthier Pasta & Rice; Nutrients Linked to Brain Health

Strategy for Making Rice and Pasta Healthier

Many people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes avoid eating starchy foods like potatoes, white rice and pasta because they’re concerned that these foods might trigger spikes in their blood sugar.

Others turn to brown rice and brown pasta because they contain more fiber than the “white” version of rice and pasta – about double the amount of fiber for wheat pasta, and 1 to 3 grams more for brown vs. white rice.

Not only does the extra fiber help avoid large, rapid increases in blood sugar, but a higher fiber diet in general promotes a healthy gut.

Fiber, for example, serves as fuel for the beneficial microbes that inhabit the gut. Friendly microbes, in turn, produce molecules that are associated with lower inflammation and healthier cholesterol metabolism.

Now, scientists have discovered that there’s a way to make white starchy foods much healthier. The process simply entails cooking and cooling the food.

This method increases the fiber content by changing the starch into ‘resistant’ starch wihch is more resistant to digestion and absorption. The cooking and cooling method has been shown to up the amount of resistant starch in rice, pasta (noodles) potatoes and lentils.

Fiber has been linked to a lower risk of many health problems incuding type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Resistant starch, in particular, has been found to reduce the risk of certain genetically linked types of cancer.

A study(1) carried out by reserchers in the UK tested the effects of cooking, cooling and reheating pasta on blood glucose. They found that with both cooled and reheated pasta, blood glucose levels returned to fasting levels more quickly than when eating freshly cooked hot pasta.

The results indicate that reheating pasta that’s already been cooked and cooled likely retains it’s resistant starch content. So while this adds a step or two to preparing these starchy foods, it adds to their health benefits and may be useful in helping to manage blood sugar levels as well.

Nutrients & Brain Health in AREDS 1&2

A number of studies have found that eating a certain way or consuming certain nutrients support brain function as we grow older. These studies include those that look at participants in the first and second age-related eye disease studies (AREDS 1 and 2).

A study published in 2020, for example, reported that participants in AREDS 1 and 2 who followed the Mediterranean (Med) diet pattern most closely had a significantly lower risk of cognitive impairment. Fish intake was also linked with higher cognitive function.

The AREDS research group recently published a study analyzing associations between nutrients and altered function or decline(2) . They identified some nutrients linked with lower risk of cognitive impairment or higher cognitive function scores.

Nutrients with the strongest and most consistent favorable associations included: Vitamins A, C, E and several B-vitamins. The minerals copper, magnesium, selenium, and zinc. The carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-carotene and lycopene, as well as the lipids DHA, EPA, and fiber.

Some nutrients with potentially harmful associations included certain fats such as saturated fatty acids, and diets with a high glycemic index or load – diets with high glycemic index foods that cause a rapid increase in blood glucose.

References

1. Hodges C, et al. Method of food preparation influence blood glucose response to a high-carbohydrate meal: A randomized cross-over trial. Foods 9:23, 2020.
2. Keenan TDL, et al. Dietary nutrient intake and cognitive function in the Age-Related Eye Disease Studies 1 and 2. Alz Dement. 19:4311-24, Oct.,2023.