Can cooking pasta, rice, or bread, and then cooling it down, actually make it healthier? Could yesterday’s leftovers affect your blood sugar differently than a freshly cooked meal, or is this just another nutrition “hack” invented by the internet? Melissa and Jam investigate starch, glucose, insulin, digestion, crystallization, and the surprising chemistry that happens while your food sits in the fridge. Plus, the whole thing somehow turns into a Lord of the Rings battle involving glucose, hobbits, and ents, because of course it does. Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Timestamps 00:00 — Can cooking and cooling starch make it healthier? 03:52 — Why bread, pasta, and rice get a bad reputation 04:36 — Starch: a polymer made from glucose 07:03 — How glucose, insulin, and blood sugar work 09:25 — The internet’s cook-cool-reheat claim 12:14 — What crystallization has to do with leftovers 14:43 — How starch changes as cooked food cools 15:48 — What is resistant starch? 17:20 — Studies on reheated bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes 19:51 — Resistant starch, fiber, and your gut bacteria 21:26 — Can repeated reheating make even more resistant starch? 23:14 — Jam explains resistant starch using Lord of the Rings 30:44 — A free food hack with actual science behind it 34:49 — Melissa and Jam’s favorite starchy meals References from the Episode: Thanks to our monthly supporters Sara Hull Dog Day Dan Bri . Summer Alden Amanda Raymond Kyle McCray Justine Ash Vince W Julie S. Heather Ragusa Autoclave Dorien VD Scott Beyer Jessie Reder J0HNTR0Y Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Venus Rebholz Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
