The excess starch content in rice is basically the reason why we cut down our rice intake when trying to balance a healthy lifestyle.
Rice, however, is one of our favourite meals in Nigeria. From parties to eateries and finally at home, we consume this dish (either plain, Jollof or fried rice) nearly every day of the week.
How then do we ignore this amazing dish all because of the starch content present in it?
It’s important to know that starch is a bad food in itself, starch serves as a thickener and binder in most food (especially carbohydrates) and is important in our diet. However, we don’t want to load ourselves with excess starch.
Cutting down the excess starch content in our food is a good way to reduce our calorie intake and consume a healthy meal (rice in this case) guilt-free.
Anyway, here’s how you can cut down the starch content in your rice and reduce your calorie intake. Let’s get cooking!
1. Wash the rice to get rid of stones, debris and a little bit of the starch content in the rice.
2. While the rice is cooking, add coconut oil. (Note that for every one cup of rice, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil)
3. Once the rice is ready, refrigerate for about 12 hours. Heat it up when you’re ready to eat it.
There you go!
“The oil interacts with the starch in rice and changes its architecture,” said Sudhair James, an undergraduate student at the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka, who presented his preliminary research alongside his supervisor, Dr. Pushparajah Thavarajah, at National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). “Chilling the rice then helps foster the conversion of starches. The result is a healthier serving, even when you heat it back up.”
By simply modifying the way you cook your rice, you must have reduced the starch content by about 50%.
Starch is a carbohydrate and contain 4 calories per gram. Moreover, many starchy foods, especially the processed and refined ones like rice, can be addictive and make you want to eat more than you need while you pack on the pounds.
If your daily calorie intake exceeds what your body uses, you will get fatter. So if “too much” means exceeding this balance, the effects are obesity, diabetes and a host of other associated ills.
Try reducing your starch intake, as well as your sugar intake for maximum benefits, to see how it influences your health and well-being.
