Do carbs release more slowly if the complex foods are undercooked?

Hi Greg,

Yes. Fibre is broken down by heat and enzymes. The definition of fibre is basically a carbohydrate that the body can't break down and therefore can't be absorbed into the blood for energy ("energy" is "calories"). Most of these foods have some fibre and some carbs that can be absorbed.

Fibre, (especially pre-biotic fibre) as most people are aware, improves the types of bacteria in your gut and most fibre keeps your digestive system working well and is associated with a lower incidence of disease.

Your body can't magically produce the enzymes to digest fibre but by heating some high-fibre foods before you eat them, some of the starch (long chains of sugars) can become digestible faster.

So that's why cooking some foods longer may make some of their calories available to the body sooner (as blood sugar) and means that they will contribute to higher insulin levels (a hormone that slows fat burning and increases fat storage) and possibly more calories being absorbed by the body - and that means less fat loss or more fat gain.

Also, faster carb absorption means "rebound hunger" - whenever blood sugar from eating carbs goes up quickly, insulin clears the sugar quickly and you get hungry sooner...ironic, eh?

So yes, if you under-cook many carbs (like oatmeal), they'll be absorbed more slowly (meaning a lower "GI").