How to Transform Carbs Into a Gut-Friendly Prebiotic
Cooling cooked carbohydrates like pasta, rice, and potatoes creates 'resistant starch,' a prebiotic fiber that supports gut health and blood sugar regulation. The process, known as starch retrogradation, requires chilling food for 12 to 24 hours to maximize these health benefits.
Why it matters
This provides a simple, evidence-based dietary strategy for improving metabolic health and gut microbiome diversity using common household foods.
Reheating last night’s spaghetti may not sound like the most glamorous lunch suggestion, but consider it for your gut health. Why? It comes down to a process called starch retrogradation.
When carb-rich foods like pasta, potatoes, or rice are cooked and cooled, “the starch molecules reorganize into a more tightly packed, crystalline structure,” says Julie Pace, RDN, a dietitian specializing in women’s gut, hormone, and metabolic health. “This restructuring promotes the formation of resistant starch, which resists digestion in the small intestine and instead functions more like dietary fiber, helping to nourish beneficial gut bacteria.”
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