Hello guys, hope you all are feeling great this week. I've been on the NSD for more than six months now, with good results but still not there. Weight loss has been a problem for me. I've lost more than 30 pounds in this time. I'm looking for something that will help me gain back the weight. I've heard from several people in this forum that glutinous rice is a type of starch that our bodies can digest without flaring and bringing those AS symptoms back. I want to give it a try. Just wanted to consult with those who have tried it before if this one would work for me. I live in Mexico so it's hard to fin this type of rice. This is why I want to order it from Amazon. Please let me know if you think this is the right type of rice so I can try it and I'll keep you all posted on how I feel after eating it. Thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Sticky-Rice-S...=glutinous+rice

I dont think that product would be the right answer. It has gluten in it, which could be big problem. The way i know, they call it glutinous bc it is sticky not that it contains gluten in it.

Anyway, I dont have the right answer and I'd like to learn too for myself.

Hello, rafaelfd and MSK:

I no longer consider myself an expert in specific items on NSD, as I cannot test things anymore (too starch-tolerant now), but Zark is a very keen expert and has moved his Zark's blog on fried rice. He seems to do Okay on amylopectin from sticky rice.

(please let us know how You do...)
HEALTH,
John

To add to Zark's information, I posted my test results and benefits of rice:

- amylopectin vs. amylose starch
- soluble benefits vs. insoluble
- resistant starches
- overall why rice is easier for us to digest than potatoes

You can read my autoimmune comparison of rice vs. potato starch on my blog for all the details. Hope this information helps you out in digestion and weight gain / stabilization.

Thank you very much for your feedback. Going to give it a try and I'll keep you posted. Have a great weekend!

Did you get an amazon link rafaeld?

I ended up buying the one posted in my first post. I read the comments and people say this rice is gluten-free. I haven't tried it yet but I will keep you posted on my results. wish me luck!!

Hi rafaelfd,
Yep that sticky rice is fine. Sticky rice definitely doesn't have gluten as with wheat. The "Glutinous" part of the name refers to its stickiness, and that is the result of the high amylopectin content. Your body of course is the ultimate determinant. And more besides, on the NSD we are not "no gluten" (which is a protein), rather we are "no starch".

You can check here, truly it doesn't contain gluten:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice
http://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Safe-Ingredients/Page1.html

Oh, and one more thing. Start small and work up so that your body can acclimatise to all the carbs in sticky rice. If you've been on the NSD for a while, then your body won't be used to so many carbs. I overdid it and had rampant candida .. I was making lots of pancakes using glutinous rice flour and eating that with honey.

Hi Zark,

Im interested in this Glutinous rice. I do occasionally eat rice because I heard it was a safer starch and Im trying to keep weight on. But I was eating basmati rice which has little amylopectin! No wonder I never felt too great after it.
Anyway is there anything you should eat with the glutinous rice or any good ratio to eat it? like maybe 30% rice 35% protein 35% fats? (Im just guessing with these ratios as an example.)
Maybe with a good ratio of fats and proteins with it, you would be less likely to develop candida?

With glutinous rice, it takes surprisingly little to give me enough carbs. Even a teaspoon of glutinous rice flour in my "almond meal porridge" is enough to give my energy levels a boost over a longer time period and reduce fatigue.. Simpler sugars like sucrose/honey really do give my energy levels a spike, followed by a nasty crash, whereas amylopectin definitely lasts much longer. And yep since it is rich in carbs I need to use moderation otherwise I can get yeast infections :-( .. I was definitely prone to them even many years begore starting the NSD

Oh, and as I mentioned before.. it makes a good pancake. By mixing it with egg and water to make a batter I don't get the itchy bum issue I would otherwise from that amount of carbs

Thanks Zark,
I just always wondered if there was a safe type of starch that wouldnt be undigested by the time it got to your lower intestine, at least in small quantities.

What brand of rice flour did you get? I can only find dovesfarm rice flour in Ireland Doves farm rice . On their website they say the rice they use is Oryza Sativa (glutinous rice) but I dont know if I can be sure.

You will want to find an asian super market (if you can find one) and buy from them. Certain asian deserts require glutinous rice flour. There are certain dumplings made out of glutinous rice too.

>> Oryza Sativa (glutinous rice)

If it just says "Oryza Sativa" then it is normal rice and has Amylose which we react badly to. The scientific name for glutinous rice is "Oryza sativa var. glutinosa".. so it is a variant/strain within the Oryza Sativa family. It really is a mutant that lost its ability to make Amylose starch. A fortunate mutation for us.

You can also check with iodine. Normal rice will turn an inky blue-black after a few minutes. Glutinous rice will turn a darkish brown colour.

..I have to warn you though ...
On its own glutinous rice flour made my proctitis symptoms WORSE. Almost as bad as if I had eaten chocolate. However, when the flour was combined with egg it somehow perfectly prevented that problem. I don't know why it prevents the problem, just have some vague theories.

Z

Another amylopectin rice is Jasmine rice, which is very easy to find. Learning about amylopectin rice was a lifesaver for me, because giving up ALL grains at once seemed overwhelming. Knowing I can have some rice when I crave a carb is a huge help.

Barbara

Sorry no, jasmine rice still has quite a lot of amylose unfortunately. 18% amylose according to the following, and I would definitely stay away from anything more than 1%:

Source: http://www.sagevfoods.com/MainPages/Rice101/Varieties.htm
"Thai Jasmine Rice. Jasmine Rice from Thailand is an aromatic rice with a strong aroma and taste that is unique. The rice looks much like southern long grain rice before and after cooking, but the amylose content is around 18% and so the texture is sticky, much like California medium grain rice. The rice is best consumed after new crop is harvested. The rice hardens in texture and loses aroma with time. There are many varieties being grown in the U.S. in imitation of this unique type of rice. These varieties have improved over the years, but so far no one has matched the unique texture, aroma, and texture of Thai Jasmine."


I advise that jasmine rice be avoided unless you are happy on the low (amylose) starch diet .. I am not tolerant of that, even small amounts of amylose upset me.

On the other hand, if you want to take the slow road to being starch free.. well, I did keep eating normal white rice for a while at the beginning in place of other starches. Rice is better tolerated than wheat and that is for certain, but I definitely tolerate glutinous rice far better than all the other rice types. It is the amylopectin that makes it sticky I reckon.

I did a little research, and yes glutinous rice has zero amylose content. This is due to a mutation in the gene that would normally produce amylose and thus rendering amylose production to nil.


source: http://ricecongress.com/previous/extPdfs/OP10-4108-Jimenez-edited.pdf
"It has been shown that waxy rice cultivars contain a lethal mutation in the waxy gene responsible for the synthesis of long chains of amylose, resulting in a null waxy allele. Hence, no amylose is expected in waxy rice." [Glutinous rice is sometimes referred to as 'waxy rice' due to its colour]
..
"Koshihikari and Jasmine rice, both highly priced for their unique sensory properties, have the same low amylose content (about 17%).."
.."Amylopectin, which makes up a larger portion of rice starch, is also known to form a colored complex with iodine. The amylopectin-iodine complex may contribute to absorbance readings at certain wavelengths and therefore can be a major source of error when it is not accounted for in the calibration equation. Although the amylose-iodine complex forms an intense blue and stable color that has maximum absorptivity at around 620 nm, the amylopectin-iodine complex is reddish brown in color, has lower absorptivity at higher wavelengths, may fade with time, and is reported to be unstable at higher pH."

Wow, thank you zark. One certain "gut specialist" purporting both glutinous rice and jasmine rice as amylopectin is really directing people in the wrong direction! Thanks so much for the correction. I'll "stick" to asian glutinous sticky rice, but maybe finish this package first and then switch.

Yeh, in their defence jasmine rice (17-18% amylose) is considered low in amylose, but that is only when compared to others grains that have say 25% amylose starch or more. On the other hand for us on the NSD even 3% amylose is really too starchy.

BUT rice is the more digestible of the grains. Anyway yeh stick with 0% amylose, i.e. glutinous rice as it may just save you from some pain in the backside

Thanks Zark :-)

I'm enjoying your blog. Lots of great info.

Barbara

Whatever you do, dont ever eat basmati rice.
I was eating out last weekend and ate basmati rice thinking it mightnt bother me too much. Ive been in a flare up since. Now im sensitive to everything.

I read afterwards that basmati is nearly 60% amylose so its the complete opposite of what we want.
I also discovered there are a few amylose free varieties of maize, sorghum millet and even potato. Though I dont know where you could buy these varieties.

Hi Zark, I have 2 questions for you.

1. Do you have a favorite brand of asian glutinous sticky rice?

I visited an asian supermarket but I was afraid to purchase because much of the product info is not in English. The clerk pointed me to the "sweet rice" and said the word glutinous refers to sweet (as in glucose I guess). She was very knowledgeable but I still didn't pull the trigger.

2. Also, she instructed that to cook it, you first rinse this rice thoroughly until the water rinses clear, then soak for several hours, then you steam it. Is this what You do?

Thanks!
Barbara

Hi John,
Yeah I have actually tried "waxy maize" which has no amylose. I didn't react badly. Actually I tried both the waxy maize flour and also waxy corn cob without AS issues. The waxy corn cobs I found in an asian grocer, and I wasn't too fond of them as they didn't have much flavour. Haven't yet seen the "waxy" potato in person - not that I would know what to look for :-/

Hi Dreamflyer, glad the blog was useful / interesting

>> 1. Do you have a favorite brand of asian glutinous sticky rice?

Oh not really. My main rule is to stick to the thai produce and avoid the chinese ones. I bought some of what I thought was "black sticky rice" but it just turned out to be "black rice". Not good!

>> clerk pointed me to the "sweet rice" and said the word glutinous refers to sweet

Yep, the clerk is correct about the "sweet rice" bit. It is a bit of a gamble though as sometimes they mess up the translations, or use the wrong packaging when they import it into english speaking countries. More established brands won't make this mistake of course.

>> Also, she instructed that to cook it, you first rinse this rice thoroughly until the
>> water rinses clear, then soak for several hours, then you steam it. Is this what You do?

The main difference to cooking normal rice is that I use a bit less water when cooking. I use a rice cooker, and fill with water until the water line is above the rice by touching the rice with my index finger and checking it is filled halfway between the finger tip and the first knuckle ..hope that makes sense.

I have never bothered with soaking it. I usually do rinse it a bit, but am not too fussed about that. Usually any weevils float to the top right away - and it doesn't happen too often anyway (Bit of extra protein ;-) )