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 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 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.

Adding a small amount of wakame seaweed to rice helps keep your blood sugar and insulin from spiking too high right after eating.