"Resistant" Starch?

As we have already learned, starch that we eat is digested at different rates. The starch in potatoes, cereals, and baked goods digests very rapidly. Other starchy foods, such as beans, barley, or long grained brown rice, are digested more slowly, and cause a much slower and lower blood sugar rise. Resistant starch actually goes all the way through the small intestine without being digested at all. In this way, it is more like fiber, and in some cases is classified and labeled as fiber.

Here are 3 types resistant starch:

1.      Starch that is difficult for the digestive process to reach, often due to a fibrous "shell". Grains and legumes which are cooked intact are an example. Also, some altered starches, such as Hi-Maize corn starch, are in both this category and the next.

2.      Some foods, such as unripe bananas, raw potatoes, and plantains, have a type of starch which our digestive enzymes can't break down.

3.      Small amounts of resistant starch (about 5% of the total) are produced when some starchy cooked foods, such as potatoes and rice, are allowed to cool before eating, (think cold potato salad with low-fat mayo or mustard)

3 Reasons to add RS to your diet:

·      Promotes "good" bacteria, and supresses "bad" bacteria and their toxic products.

·      Promotes bowel regularity.

·      Resistant starch in a meal is associated with less fat storage after that meal.