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Carbs - Don't Resist Them

Posted on Dec 18th 2008 7:30AM by Jacki Donaldson

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

You can have your pasta and eat it too. Potatoes and rice included. Not only will these items not weigh you down, they might help you shed a few pounds.

New evidence, cited in Woman's Day magazine (December 2, 2008), suggests that when you cook and cool starchy goods like pasta, potatoes and rice, a substance called resistant starch forms. Also found in bananas, lentils, beans, and whole grains, your body can't digest the stuff. It acts like fiber, you see, so eating it helps you feel full. It also helps your body burn stored fat before turning it to carbohydrates for fuel.

Get your fill -- vegetarian chili, bean salads and cold potato, pasta and rice salads are all good picks.

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2 Comment

Tags: carbohydrates, carbs, jacki-ddonaldson, pasta, potatoes, resistant-starch, rice

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andrew R 12-18-2008 @ 2:17PM

Hey Jacki,

I just read the article over at Woman's Day and a few things strike me as odd. First off, the author did not provide a link to an actual study, so the reader has no way of taking a look at the data behind Dr. Slavin's reasoning.

Second, these foods, no matter how they are prepared do not encourage fat burning, they promote glycogen storing. Here's a little excerpt from Wiki:

"As a meal containing carbohydrates is eaten and digested, blood glucose levels rise, and the pancreas secretes insulin."

The amount of insulin is dependent on the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of that food. With the foods discussed in the article such as a potatoes (with a GI of 111 and a GL of 24.1), the insulin spikes are very large, thus telling your body to store more fat.

It's a shame that I can't take a look at a specific study that backs the claim of "resistant starch forms" mirroring that of fiber.

Thanks for the article!

All the Best,

Andrew R

Arana 12-18-2008 @ 9:33PM

Also, like I noted before, resistant starches in cold potatoes don't make it through your GI tract at the same low temperature. After the potato warms up as you digest it, all traces of resistant starches have disintegrated. Maybe if they found a way to keep it cold as it traveled through your body....