How to Make Carbs Work for You – With One Easy Biohack

Carbs have always been a bit tricky for me. Through testing, I discovered that my body doesn’t digest carbohydrates very well. I experienced bloating, cravings and energy crashes every time I ate starchy food. That’s one reason I thrived on a ketogenic diet for several years. No blood sugar swings, no hunger pangs, just balanced energy.

But when I started to reintroduce carbs into my diet, I knew I had to be smart about it. That’s when I discovered resistant starch and the simple, powerful trick of freezing starchy foods before eating them.

What Is Resistant Starch?

Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine. Instead of being broken down into sugar like regular starch, it passes into the colon where it acts more like fiber. This means that it’s feeding your good gut bacteria and supporting your digestive health. So, with resistant starch, you don’t absorb the carbs as sugar.

How Freezing Pasta Increases Resistant Starch

The cool part (literally) is that when you cook and then cool starchy foods like pasta, rice, potatoes and bread, their structure changes. This process is called retrogradation and it increases the amount of resistant starch in the food.

So when you cook, cool and reheat rice for example, it will have a lower glycemic impact. When you eat pasta and leftover potatoes that’s been frozen and reheated, you will also experience less blood sugar spikes. As a bonus, you are feeding your gut with good bacterias.

This trick is backed by several studies showing that reheated starch has less impact on blood glucose than freshly cooked versions. For example, one study found that cooling and reheating pasta reduced it’s glycemic response by up to 50% compared to freshly cooked pasta.

Why You Should Do This

By simply cooling or freezing starchy foods like rice, potatoes and pasta before eating them, their structure changes. This increases the resistant starch content, and your body digests them more slowly. The result? Your blood sugar doesn’t spike as dramatically. Since making this shift myself, I’ve felt more balanced and satisfied after meals. Bye, bye to post-carb crashes and bloating. It’s also a perfect bonus for those of us who like to meal-prep.

But the benefits of this hack go beyond digestion. Resistant starch acts like a prebiotic, feeding your good gut bacteria and supporting a healthier microbiome. It can also help regulate blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity and even support metabolic health. For me, it’s become a small but powerful biohack that helps me enjoy carbs, without the downsides.

Here’s how you can start incorporating resistant starch into your meals:

1. Cook starchy food (like rice or pasta).

2. Let it cool in the fridge or freeze it (for at least 12 hours before consuming or reheating).

3. Reheat and enjoy or eat it cold (hello, potato salad!).

Optional: Combine with healthy fats (like olive oil) and protein to slow down digestion even more.

Final Thoughts

If you’re like me and struggle with carbs or you just want to optimize your metabolism and gut health – resistant starch is such an easy, science-backed biohack to try. And honestly, it’s kind of fun freezing your pasta and feeling like you’re getting away with something. Let me know if you’ve tried this or plan to! I’d love to hear your experience.