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Often, carbohydrates get a bad rap, with many people avoiding them out of fear of weight gain, blood sugar spikes, and seeing them as a barrier to health. However, there’s a type of “carb” that’s different – it doesn’t necessarily lead to weight gain and can even help alleviate fatty liver. This beneficial carbohydrate is called Resistant Starch.
What is Resistant Starch?
Research has highlighted the positive effects of a diet rich in resistant starch. One study showed it can alter gut bacterial composition and reduce triglycerides and liver enzyme levels associated with liver damage and inflammation, helping to mitigate fatty liver. Another study found that participants who supplemented with resistant starch for 8 weeks lost an average of 2.8 kilograms. Furthermore, it significantly improved participants’ glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
So, what exactly is resistant starch? To understand it, we need to look at how starches are classified based on their digestibility:
- Rapidly Digestible Starch: Quickly absorbed in the small intestine within 20 minutes. Provides fast energy but causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels.
- Slowly Digestible Starch: Absorbed more slowly in the small intestine, taking 20-120 minutes. Provides sustained energy and results in a more stable rise in blood sugar.
- Resistant Starch: This is the key. It cannot be digested or absorbed in the small intestine and is not broken down into glucose for the body to use. It provides almost no energy and does not raise blood sugar.
Where Can You Find Resistant Starch?
Resistant starch is present in many natural foods. The following foods are excellent sources of resistant starch, offer a slow rise in blood sugar, provide strong satiety, and can serve as high-quality main carbohydrate sources:
- Whole Grains:
- Recommended: Oats, sweet corn, barley, wheat, sorghum, etc.
- Unprocessed whole grains and seeds generally contain resistant starch. Aim for 1/4 to 1/2 of your daily grain intake to be whole grains, ensuring at least one meal includes them.
- Tip: Whole grains alone can be harder to digest. Mixing with rice makes them more palatable. A 1:0.5 ratio of rice to whole grains for cooking rice or porridge offers better texture and helps control blood sugar.
- Legumes:
- Recommended: Chickpeas, peas, soybeans, black beans, lentils, red beans, green beans, pinto beans, etc.
- You can have soy milk in the morning or eat chickpeas or peas as snacks between meals. Increase the use of mixed beans in your main meals, for example, by adding red or green beans when cooking rice.
- Tip: Beans alone can cause bloating. A 1:0.3 ratio of rice to beans when cooking rice or porridge, with beans soaked overnight beforehand, ensures good texture and aids digestion.
- Tubers:
- Recommended: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc.
- Include some tubers in one or two of your daily meals, reducing the portion of other main carbohydrate sources accordingly.
- Tip: Cooked or baked tubers can be eaten directly as a main dish, or cut into pieces and cooked with rice. Products made from sweet potato flour or potato flour, like buns, are also good options.
How to Maximize Resistant Starch Intake Healthily?
Simple cooking and preparation methods can influence the resistant starch content of foods:
- Cool Cooked Carbs Before Eating:
- Cooling cooked rice, steamed buns, or potatoes in the refrigerator significantly increases their resistant starch content and lowers their glycemic index. Even when reheated, some resistant starch remains, and the blood sugar response is lower than with fresh hot rice. High heat and moisture cause starch gelatinization, reducing resistant starch and increasing digestibility and glycemic response.
- Choose Low-Water Cooking Methods:
- Cooking methods like baking or microwaving, which use less water, reduce starch gelatinization. For example, a baked potato has more resistant starch than a boiled one. Use baking or microwaving to reheat cooled, refrigerated rice, buns, or bread.
- Cook Mixed Grains to Be Slightly Chewy:
- High-pressure cooking reduces resistant starch content. A very mushy mixed-grain porridge cooked in a pressure cooker will have less resistant starch than slightly chewy mixed-grain rice cooked by steaming.
- Avoid Overly Oily Meals:
- Eating very oily or high-fat foods can counteract the health benefits of resistant starch.
- Don’t Blindly Buy Pure Resistant Starch Supplements:
- Consuming too much resistant starch can cause gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, increased bowel movements, or changes in stool consistency.
By making simple, smart food choices within a balanced diet, you can easily increase your intake of resistant starch and make your meals even healthier.
