What’s the Connection: Resistant Starch & Diabetes
It seems that “Resistant Starch” could be a new friend to Diabetics. According to research done by National Starch, consuming resistant starch foods may reduce insulin resistance, the onset of diabetes and even heart disease.
The study was based on participants consuming 40g of resistant starch daily. The lead researcher claimed that the improvements they saw were actually “bigger than you get with most blood glucose lowering drugs”. That sounds pretty impressive.
I know, “resistant starch” sounds almost foreign. What is resistant starch and what foods contain it? Resistant starch reminds me of insoluble fiber – fiber that is not digested but passes through the colon. Resistant starch goes all the way through the small intestine without being digested, therefore similar to fiber. The two main types of resistant starch come from foods that are either too difficult to be digested, usually because of their fibrous covering, OR the food has a type of starch witch the body can’t break down with enzymes. Here are food examples…
· Whole Grains and legumes have a fibrous “shell”, which is a type of starch that is difficult for the digestive tract to break down. The grains and legumes need to be cooked whole and not canned or processed, (which generally have their outer covering removed). Grains such as barley, bulgur wheat and long grain brown rice are great sources.
· Unripe Bananas, plantains and raw potatoes all seem to possess a variety of starch which the body can’t break down, yum!
· Hi-Maize corn starch falls under both categories. It is not my first choice because it is not a naturally occurring food, but seems to provide a high amount of resistant starch.
How is Resistant starch processed in the body and what does it do exactly? Once the starch approaches the colon, the friendly bacteria that resides there uses the starch for fuel. The result is a short chain fatty acid – these are good fats, unlike long chain fatty acid which include animal/saturated fats. These SCF acids help to protect the colon cells. Resistant starch enhances mineral absorption; improves insulin sensitivity; helps you feel fuller; good for lowering cholesterol; minimizes the bad bacteria in our colon; great for regularity and the list goes on.
You can read more about resistant starch at: http://www.resistantstarch.com/ResistantStarch/ .
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As someone who was once diagnosed with being Insulin Resistant, this is article is really fascinating! Thank you for getting this information out there
Great article. You got one detail incorrectly, however. Hi-maize is naturally occurring. It is isolated from corn that is naturally rich in amylose that has been around for 30 years (not genetically modified in any way). The amylose content is what makes it naturally high in resistant starch. National Starch just isolates it, has puts it through a heat and moisture treatment to align the amylose chains to increase the dietary fiber content. It is not treated with enzymes, with acid, or with other chemicals. Its naturally high levels of resistant starch is due to what naturally occurs in this particular grain.
There are other resistant starches in the food industry that have been introduced within the last 3-5 years that use acids, enzymes, and other chemical agents to create the resistance. So, you have to be specific about which resistant starch you use to know what you’re getting.
Thank you Rhonda for your great input. I was worried that companies would use genetically motified corn when extracting the resistant starch. Thanks for the clarification.