If you cook rice and then chill it in the fridge for a day, it turns into a type of starch that doesn’t spike your blood sugar as much—this could help people with type 1 diabetes manage their blood sugar better after eating.

If you cook rice, let it cool in the fridge, and then reheat it, it turns into a type of starch that your body digests more slowly—so your blood sugar and insulin don’t spike as much after eating it.

If you have type 1 diabetes and use an insulin pump that gives you the same amount of insulin no matter what you eat, eating cold rice can make your blood sugar drop too low after meals—because your body absorbs less sugar from cold rice, but you still get the same insulin dose.

Eating cooled rice instead of hot rice makes blood sugar rise faster in people with type 1 diabetes—peaking in 35 minutes instead of 45—which might help their insulin work better at the right time.

If you cool and reheat white rice, people with type 1 diabetes say it still tastes, smells, and feels just like fresh rice—so it’s totally fine to eat it this way as part of their diet.