Resistant Starch May Be One Carb Not to Resist

by Maggie Vink (Subscribe to Maggie Vink's posts)
Nov 13th 2008 4:00PM

Resistant starch is found in foods such as potatoes, rice, corn, and bananas. It's the key behind trendy, new diets like the Morning Banana Diet. It's said to resist digestion while filling you up and reducing your hunger.

To be effective for weight loss, most foods that contain resistant starch need to be cooked then cooled. For example, beans, barley, corn, potatoes, and brown rice need to be cooked and then cooled for the resistant starch to form. Reheating destroys the resistant starch. The one exception is bananas which should be eaten raw.

Vital Juice Daily has two recipes that are high in resistant starch:

Source

Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Natalie 11-14-2008 @ 8:46PM

Like most fads, I have a feeling the benefits of this "resistant starch" are overblown to sell more diet books. Still, I would like to check out the actual studies done on it. Who knows, I could be wrong!

Arana 11-14-2008 @ 4:01AM

Honestly, the idea of "resistant" starches seem a bit farfetched to me. Just think, if your starches are cooled down enough to form crystals that are indigestible and therefore not able to be absorbed into the body as calories, that's all great and everything, but remember that's only if it is cooled. When you eat it, your body will naturally heat up the food and there goes your "resistant" starches, turning back into nonresistant starches.

Maggie Vink 11-14-2008 @ 4:03AM

Interesting point, Arana. I have to admit, the whole concept -- especially the "Morning Banana Diet" seems suspect to me, too.

Rhonda Witwer 12-02-2008 @ 6:52AM

It's good to be skeptical, but this one actually has studies behind it. Go to www.ResistantStarch.com to find out. There are different types of resistant starch. The RS in bananas does not need to be heated and cooled - it naturally resists digestion in the small intestine and is fermented within the large intestine. This fermentation contributes calories but it also sets off a cascade of beneficial mechanisms within the body. For instance, it turns on the genes in the large intestine that produce GLP-1 and PYY - important satiety hormones. In animal studies, these hormones stay elevated for 24 hours - because resistant starch ferments over a long period of time in your large intestine (which is good). Consider that you might not be as hungry for 24 hour after eating bananas! Resistant starch's fermentation also increases insulin sensitivity (shown in 3 human clinical trials). Since high levels of insulin cause fat to be deposited, keeping insulin levels lower helps to keep weight down. One additional human clinical showed that consumption of resistant starch (approximately the same amount as in a banana) switched the body to burning 20-25% fat (including stored fat) instead of dietary carbohydrates.
The science behind resistant starch is not about selling diet books - studies have been going on for more than 20 years. It has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Australian government, Diabetes UK, the European Union, the World Health Organization and every other funding agency in the world. It's about trying to figure out how we can eat better and avoid the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and cancer.