You’ve probably heard something about resistant starch. Maybe it’s for the best in terms of weight loss and glucose control? If you haven’t heard about it yet, now is the time to find out more.
Let us begin with a definition. A carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine and ferments in the large intestine is known as resistant starch. The fibres act as a prebiotic, feeding the good bacteria in the gut as they ferment. There are various kinds of resistant starch. They are classified according to their structure or source. A single food can contain more than one type of resistant starch.
The Advantages of Resistant Starch
Starches are typically broken down into glucose when digested. Resistant starch does not raise glucose because it is not digested in the small intestine. Gut health improves as fermentation in the large intestine produces more good bacteria and fewer bad bacteria. Glycemic control can be improved by having healthy gut bacteria. Other advantages of resistant starch include increased fullness, constipation treatment and prevention, lower cholesterol, and a lower risk of colon cancer. Because resistant starch ferments slowly, it produces less gas than other fibres.
Resistant Starch Varieties
Not all resistant starches are created equal. There are four distinct types.
• Type 1: Found in grains, seeds, and legumes, and is resistant to digestion due to its binding within the fibrous cell walls.
• Type 2: Can be found in starchy foods such as raw potatoes and green (unripe) bananas.
• Type 3: Forms when starchy foods, such as potatoes and rice, are cooked and then cooled. Through retrogradation, the cooling converts some of the digestible starches into resistant starches.
• Type 4: Man-made and created through a chemical process.
This classification, however, is not so straightforward because several different types of resistant starch can coexist in the same food.
The amount of resistant starch in foods varies depending on how they are prepared.
Allowing a banana to ripen (turn yellow), for example, will degrade the resistant starches and convert them to regular starches.
How Does It Function?
The primary reason resistant starch works is that it functions similarly to soluble, fermentable fibre.
It passes undigested through your stomach and small intestine, eventually reaching your colon and feeding your friendly gut bacteria.
The bacteria in your intestine (the gut flora) outnumber the cells in your body 10 to 1 — you’re only 10% human in that regard.
Unlike most foods, fermentable fibres and resistant starches feed the other 90% of your cells.
In your intestine, there are hundreds of different types of bacteria. Scientists have discovered in recent decades that the number and type of bacteria in your body can have a significant impact on your health.
Resistant starch feeds the friendly bacteria in your intestine, influencing both the type and number of bacteria.
When bacteria digest resistant starches, they produce a variety of compounds, including gases and short-chain fatty acids, the most notable of which is butyrate.
Your Digestive System’s Superfood
When you consume resistant starch, it travels to your large intestine, where bacteria digest it and convert it to short-chain fatty acids.
Butyrate is the most important of these short-chain fatty acids.
Butyrate is the preferred fuel of the intestinal cells.
As a result, resistant starch feeds both the friendly bacteria and the cells in your colon indirectly by increasing the amount of butyrate.
Resistant starch has several health benefits for your colon.
It lowers the pH level, effectively reduces inflammation, and causes a number of beneficial changes that should reduce your risk of colorectal cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide.
Short-chain fatty acids that aren’t used by your colon’s cells travel to your bloodstream, liver, and the rest of your body, where they may have a variety of beneficial effects.
Resistant starch may help with a variety of digestive disorders due to its colon-healing properties. This includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, as well as constipation, diverticulitis, and diarrhoea.
Resistant starch has also been shown in animal studies to improve mineral absorption.
However, the role of butyrate in health and disease must be thoroughly researched in humans before any firm recommendations can be made.
The Health Advantages of Resistant Starch
Resistant starch has a number of metabolic health benefits.
Several studies show that it can improve insulin sensitivity, or the ability of your body’s cells to respond to insulin.
Resistant starch can also help to lower blood sugar levels after meals.
Furthermore, it has a second meal effect, which means that eating resistant starch with breakfast will lower your blood sugar spike at lunch.
The effect on glucose and insulin metabolism is astounding. After four weeks of consuming 15-30 grammes per day, some studies found a 33-50% improvement in insulin sensitivity.
The significance of insulin sensitivity cannot be overstated.
Insulin resistance is thought to be a major risk factor for several serious diseases, including metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.
Resistant starch may help you avoid chronic disease and improve your quality of life by improving insulin sensitivity and lowering blood sugar.
However, not all studies agree that resistant starch possesses these properties.
Improving Satiety May Aid Weight Loss:
Resistant starch has two calories per gramme versus four calories per gramme of regular starch.
The more resistant starches a food contains, the fewer calories it contains.
Several studies have found that soluble fibre supplements can help with weight loss by increasing feelings of fullness and decreasing appetite.
The same effect appears to be achieved by resistant starch. Including resistant starch in meals boosts feelings of fullness and causes people to consume fewer calories.
A few animal studies show that resistant starch can cause weight loss, but this effect has not been thoroughly studied in humans.
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