Introduction: Carbohydrates are one of the macronutrients which have the most substantial influence on glycemic response. The cooling of rice after cooking causes retrogradation of starch, which becomes a non-absorbable product in the human digestive tract.Aim of the study: This study aimed to assess whether cooling of rice affects postprandial glycemia in subjects with type 1 diabetes.Materials and methods: The study included 32 patients with type 1 diabetes. Each participant of the study consumed two standardized test meals consisting of long-grain white rice. One of the test meals was served immediately after preparation, and another was cooled for 24 h at 4 °C after preparation and reheated before being served. Postprandial glycemia was measured for 3 h using the FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring system for each patient.Results: After consumption of the test meal containing rice subjected to the cooling process when compared to fresh rice, a significantly lower value of maximum glycemia (11 vs. 9.9 mmol/L,p = 0.0056), maximum glycemic increase (2.7 vs. 3.9 mmol/L,p < 0.0001), areas under the glycemic curve (135 vs. 336 mmol/L * 180 min,p < 0.0001) and significantly shorter time to peak (35 vs. 45 min,p = 0.031) was observed. There was a significantly higher number of hypoglycemic episodes among the patients after consuming test meals with cooled rice compared to fresh ones during 180 min of observation (12(38) vs. 3(9),p = 0.0039).Conclusions: Consumption of rice subjected to the cooling process results in a lower increase of postprandial blood glucose in subjects with type 1 diabetes. At the same time it increases the risk of postprandial hypoglycemia using a standard insulin dose.
Background: Carbohydrate quality and culinary processing can meaningfully alter postprandial glycemia in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Cooling gelatinized starch promotes retrogradation and increases resistant starch (RS), potentially attenuating postprandial glucose excursions. Objectives: We investigated whether pasta cooled after cooking (24 h at 4 °C) and reheated before consumption improves postprandial glycemia in adults with T1D without increasing hypoglycemia risk under routine insulin pump bolus-calculator dosing. Methods: In this randomized, single-blind, crossover study, 32 adults with T1D treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) consumed two standardized pasta-based meals (50 g of available carbohydrate): freshly cooked pasta and cooled/reheated pasta. Participants administered rapid-acting insulin boluses calculated by their pump bolus calculator 10 min before the meal. Interstitial glucose was recorded for 180 min using flash glucose monitoring. Results: Compared with freshly cooked pasta, cooled/reheated pasta produced lower maximum glycemia (10.7 vs. 12.6 mmol/L, p = 0.0001), lower maximum glycemic rise (2.8 vs. 4.7 mmol/L, p < 0.0001), lower incremental area under the curve (iAUC; 211.9 vs. 524.8 mmol/L × 180 min, p < 0.0001), and a shorter time-to-peak (65 vs. 125 min, p = 0.014). Resistant starch content increased after cooling (12.88 ± 0.06 vs. 8.03 ± 0.08 g/100 g). The number of hypoglycemic episodes did not differ between conditions. Conclusions: Cooling and reheating pasta therefore increased RS and attenuated postprandial glycemia in adults with T1D without increasing early postprandial hypoglycemia in the studied setting.