Resistant Starch Resistant starch gets its name because it resists digestion. Resistant starch does not get broken down during digestion, unlike many carbohydrates that get digested and absorbed as fuel or glucose into the body. Resistant starch passes through to the large intestine and acts like dietary fiber.
Resistant starch has been categorized into four types: • RS1 Physically inaccessible or digestible: found in seeds or legumes and unprocessed whole grains • RS2 Resistant starch that occurs in its natural granular form, such as uncooked potato, green banana flour and high amylose corn • RS3 Resistant starch that is formed when starch-containing foods are cooked and cooled such as in legumes, bread, cornflakes and cooked-and-chilled potatoes, pasta salad or sushi rice. The process of cooking out the starch and cooling it is called retrogradation. • RS4 Starches that have been chemically modified to resist digestion. This type of resistant starches can have a wide variety of structures and are not found in nature.
Benefits of resistant starch: • prevent constipation • make colon less likely to harbor unhealthy bacteria • help colon keep health bacteria • may help control blood sugar • improve insulin resistance • increase uptake of calcium • resist absorption of toxins or carcinogens There is no evidence to show that resistant starch aids weight loss. More research is needed.
Foods that contain resistant starch: Legumes contain the highest amount of resistant starch but it is also found in bananas, potatoes, yams and whole grains. Cooking and chilling these foods seems to increase the resistant starch content. Some foods are made with a resistant starch called Hi-maize. • Navy beans, ½ cup cooked, 9.8 grams • Banana, 1 medium: 4.7 grams • Rolled oats, 1/4 cup: 4.4 grams • Frozen green peas, 1 cup: 4 grams • White beans, 1/2 cup cooked: 3.7 grams • Cold potato, 1- 2” diameter: 3.2 grams • Lentils, 1/2 cup cooked: 2.5 grams • Cold pasta, 1 cup: 1.9 grams • Pearl barley, 1/2 cup cooked: 1.6 grams • Oatmeal, 1 cup cooked; 0.7 grams • Wholegrain bread, 2 slices: 0.5 grams
Sources: resistantstarch.com diabetesselfmanagement.com wikipedia.com medscape.com