Butter rice cake is very popular, but not everyone can eat it——

Review expert: Wang Xiaohui, deputy senior engineer in food science, editor-in-chief of Food Interesting Science Popularization

Recently, butter rice cake has become a top-tier delicacy. Not only has the topic topped the hot search list on Weibo, but many dessert and pastry shops have also started selling butter rice cake overnight.

According to Shanghai media reports, 6,000 butter rice cakes can be sold in one store in one day. Some people say it is "terribly delicious" while others call it a "stumbling block to weight loss." What exactly is this popular butter rice cake? What health risks are hidden behind the high calories? Who is not suitable to eat butter rice cake?

What exactly is Butter Rice Cake?

Butter rice cake is an innovative pastry that combines the characteristics of Chinese and Western cuisine. It is made with glutinous rice flour and japonica rice flour as the main ingredients, and with butter, milk, white sugar and other ingredients. It has a rich milky aroma and sweetness, and a crispy outside and glutinous inside.

In addition to the classic flavors, butter rice cakes have also evolved into many new flavors such as matcha, taro paste, caramel, etc., which meet the diverse needs of different consumers and are very popular in the market. Some people even queue up to buy them just to satisfy their appetite. However, experts remind everyone that butter rice cakes are a typical "sugar and oil mixture", that is, the food contains a lot of sugar and oil at the same time. This combination makes it extremely high in calories and is called a "calorie bomb".

What health risks may arise?

High calories lead to obesity risk

For example, a serving of conventionally prepared butter rice cakes can have 200 to 300 kcal of calories, which is equivalent to the calories of half a bowl of rice (200 grams of rice has about 230 kcal of calories). Therefore, if you eat a lot of butter rice cakes for a long time, your body will not be able to consume these extra calories in time, and they will be converted into fat and accumulated in the body, leading to weight gain and increasing the risk of obesity.

High fat increases risk of cardiovascular disease

Butter contains high levels of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and excessive intake may have adverse effects on cardiovascular health. After being metabolized in the human body, saturated fatty acids will significantly increase the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), also known as "bad cholesterol", in the blood. "Bad cholesterol" deposits on the blood vessel walls and gradually forms atherosclerotic plaques, which thickens and hardens the blood vessel walls, narrows the lumen, affects blood circulation, and greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, and arteriosclerosis.

High sugar affects blood sugar stability

The white sugar and glutinous rice flour in the butter rice cake will quickly convert into glucose during digestion, so its glycemic index (GI) is high. For diabetic patients, blood sugar will rise rapidly after eating butter rice cake, which will destroy the stable control of blood sugar; for people with normal blood sugar, if they eat butter rice cake frequently and in large quantities, it may also cause excessive fluctuations in blood sugar. In the long run, it will affect the normal secretion and function of insulin and increase the risk of diabetes.

Indigestion and gastrointestinal burden

The main raw material for making butter rice cakes is glutinous rice flour, which is rich in amylopectin and has high viscoelasticity and ductility after heating. It stays in the stomach for a long time, which can easily cause stomach discomfort such as indigestion and bloating. It is more difficult to digest if it is not fully chewed, which may lead to delayed gastric emptying and increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, due to the high sugar and fat content in glutinous rice products, excessive consumption will increase gastric acid secretion, further irritate the gastric mucosa, and cause symptoms such as stomach pain and acid reflux.

These types of people need to be careful when eating butter rice cakes

Obese people

Obese people themselves face the challenge of weight management, and their body's metabolic function may have been affected by excessive fat accumulation. The high calories in butter rice cakes will increase the possibility of fat accumulation in the body. In order to control their weight and stay away from the health risks brought by obesity, obese people should try to reduce the consumption of butter rice cakes and choose healthy foods with low calories.

Diabetic patients

Diabetic patients need to strictly control blood sugar fluctuations in their diet, and eating butter rice cakes causes blood sugar to rise sharply, increasing the difficulty of blood sugar control. Even patients with good blood sugar control should stay away from butter rice cakes to avoid blood sugar exceeding the normal range in a short period of time, which will affect the stability of the disease.

Patients with cardiovascular disease

Patients with cardiovascular diseases should eat a low-fat, low-salt, and low-sugar diet. The high sugar and high fat content in butter rice cakes is exactly the opposite of this. Eating them can easily aggravate the condition. For the sake of cardiovascular health, such patients should also eat butter rice cakes with caution.

People with weak digestive ability

The texture of butter rice cake is sticky, which can easily increase the gastrointestinal burden for the elderly, children and people with stomach diseases (such as gastritis, gastric ulcers, indigestion, etc.) with weak digestive ability. In addition, if butter rice cake accidentally sticks to the esophagus and respiratory tract, it will cause the risk of choking and threaten life safety.