Bookmarks–January 1, 2025
Some food news to start the new year, including: how to make white rice and pasta healthier; the link between a healthy diet and a healthy brain; and why a critical eye is needed for stories about ultra-processed foods. And, speaking of overly processed foods, I’ve linked to a story that compares mass-produced (and tasteless) tortillas to those made in a more traditional way, and another that looks at the origins of Nutella.
Pasta and rice may be healthier as leftovers. Here’s why.
When I first heard that leaving your cooked rice in the fridge overnight could make it healthier, I had serious doubts. But it appears to be true and this article explains why. Resistant starch, which is created when a food like white rice is cooled, is less easily digested and causes fewer spikes in blood sugar. I don’t eat a ton of pasta but I do eat rice fairly often and while I usually opt for brown, or switch out rice altogether for farro, white rice just works better in some dishes. It’s good to know it is better for me if I cook it in advance and cool it.
“Cooking and cooling causes the food’s starch molecules to become tightly packed together, making them more difficult to digest, Dr. Bajka said. When this happens, some of the starch becomes ‘resistant,’ meaning its sugar molecules aren’t as easily broken apart and absorbed into your bloodstream as they normally would be…Even if you reheat the food as leftovers the next day, most of the resistant starch formed during cooling will remain, he added.” (New York Times, gifted link)
Top nutrition lessons from 2024 and some takeaways for 2025
I included this article mainly because of the first lesson about the connection between diet and risk of dementia. I recently had a conversation with a dementia researcher and he indicated that in addition to sleep and regular exercise, a healthy diet is extremely important for reducing cognitive decline. There are also some helpful links at the bottom of this article. As for the author’s point about ultra-processed foods (UPFs), consider it in conjunction with the Vox article below. There is a lot of vagueness and generalization about UPFs that often serve to tarnish healthy options, so approach any absolutes on this topic with caution.
“In April, research published in the Nature journal found a powerful link between dietary choices and brain health among 181,990 adults living in Britain…People who ate a healthy balanced diet had enhanced mental health, superior cognitive function and higher amounts of grey matter in the brain, associated with attention and memory, than did those ate a less varied diet.” (Globe and Mail, gifted link)
You’re being lied to about “ultra-processed” foods
As indicated in the Globe & Mail article above, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are a hot topic. This Vox article looks at the role of the media in creating a panic over UPFs that often puts healthy options on the “naughty” list. Focused on recent reports about the dangers of plant-based “meats,” this report shows how the media distorted the findings of the research it cited while also examining the arbitrary nature of current UPF categories which place foods like tofu and seitan at the highest and, apparently, most dangerous level.
“If UPF were a more intellectually modest concept, it might have more analytic value. But much of the UPF literature has committed itself to the untenable position that whatever it classifies as ultra-processed is automatically an inferior choice, even a dangerous one. Meanwhile, people in the real world are making real food choices under all sorts of constraints, and it would make no sense to tell them that they should avoid unsweetened soy milk just because it contains a thickener.” (Vox)
How tortillas lost their magic
This story fits in with the talk of UPFs, above. The author looks at the streamlining of tortilla production in the US and the bland, cardboard-like results. She describes a small but growing movement toward traditional tortilla making and the contradiction in creating an artisanal product that is priced out of reach of those to whom it belongs.
“To taste a tortilla made from heirloom corn is to get a little closer to its ancient roots, but that heritage is being marketed, at least right now, mostly to the economically advantaged shoppers at Whole Foods and diners at upscale Mexican joints…The masa revolution is largely pricing out the descendants of the people who invented it, but Ochoa told me it’s also exciting. The tortilla has come a long way from the days of the Spanish conquistadors, who viewed masa as the unhealthy food of an uncivilized people and imported wheat instead. (That wheat, intended for bread, also gave rise to the flour tortilla.). Today, Mexican food—and most especially tortillas—are mainstays of the American diet even as Washington pursues policies to keep actual Mexicans out of the country.” (The Atlantic, gifted link)
The untold history behind Nutella’s rise to household fame
I’m not sure this headline is accurate, given the link in the article to a 34-part history of Nutella’s predecessor, a sweet called gianduia. So the story has been told, at least in part, but this brief overview of the Ferrero company’s most famous product–the highly processed but still delicious and fine-to-eat-in moderation Nutella–is interesting. The product has a long history and even crosses paths with Napoleon.
“It’s rare that a jar of anything can embody two centuries of social, political, and historical change. But mixed with a touch of food lore under that white lid are Napoleon’s bravado (possibly, at least); the ingenuity of the old Turinese chocolatiers; and the creativity of their descendant Ferrero.” (Serious Eats)
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