Love starchy foods? Try this simple, science-backed nutrition hack: Eat only a little bit of your rice, pasta or potato dish in the first go-round and save the rest for leftovers.
Multiple studies, including research published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, have found that heating, cooling and then reheating these foods elevates their resistant-starch content—which has several benefits. Resistant starch is indigestible, meaning that the leftover food may have up to 50 percent fewer calories than the original dish. It can also act as a prebiotic, feeding your good gut bacteria and potentially fighting chronic inflammation.
In the aforementioned study, rice that had been cooled for 24 hours and was then reheated also lowered the body’s glycemic response.