Carbs comes in different forms, from the sugar carbs to the starches that are loaded with fiber. Each of these carbs have a different impact on our bodies.
One such carb is the resistant starch. This type of carb is seen as a type of fiber. If you increase resistant starch in your diet then you can furthermore increase the can be beneficial for the bacteria in your intestines as well as for your cells.
That all said, studies have now shown that to prepare foods like rice, pasta and potatoes could change their resistant starch content. More so, this is the focus of this article, to investigate how you could increase the amount of resistant starch in your diet without even changing what you eat.
Resistant starch, what is it?
Starches are made up of long chains of glucose, and these glucoses are the key building block of carbs. What is more, they are the major source of energy for the cells in your body.
You can find starches in grains, beans, corn, potatoes and different other foods. The thing is that not all starches are processed equally within the body. Most starches are broken down into glucose and then are absorbed. This is the reason why our blood glucose, or blood sugar, increases after eating these type of foods. However, resistant starch is resistant to digestion. This means that these type of starches just passes through the intestines without being broken down by your body. There is one exception, since they can be broken down and used as fuel by the bacteria in your large intestine. Plus, during this process short-chain fatty acids are produced that are good for your cell health. Examples of good resistant starches are cashew nuts, potatoes, green bananas, legumes, and oats.
Why is resistant starch good for us?
Resistant starch delivers numerous significant health benefits. Firstly, as they are not digested by the cells of your small intestine, it is accessible for the bacteria in the large intestine to use. Plus, resistant starch is a prebiotic. This means that it substance that offers food for the good bacteria in your intestines. Furthermore, resistant starch encourages bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. Butyrate is in essence a top energy source for the cells in your large intestine.
By helping with the production of butyrate, resistant starch offers the cells of your large intestine with their ideal source of energy. Furthermore, resistant starch could lessen inflammation and effectively change the metabolism of the bacteria in your intestines. It is with this that researchers are of the view that resistant starch could play a role in preventing colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Plus, that it could reduce the rise in blood sugar after a meal and mend insulin sensitivity, or how well the hormone insulin brings blood sugar into your cells.
Difficulties with insulin sensitivity are a chief factor in type 2 diabetes. If you improve your body’s reaction to insulin through healthy nutrition, then you can help to fight this disease. This with other blood sugar benefits, resistant starch could assist you feel fuller and eat less, as well. As feeling full, can help reduce calorie intake without the unpleasant feelings of hunger. Therefore, over a period resistant starch could theoretically aid you to shed some weight by increasing fullness and lessening calorie intake.
Cooling down certain foods after cooking them could increases resistant starch
Resistant starch can be formed after cooked foods are cooled down, and this process is called starch retrogradation. It happens when certain starches lose their original structure because of heating or cooking. Plus, if these starches are later cooled, a new structure is formed and these new structures are resistant to digestion and leads to health benefits.
Potatoes
A common source of dietary starch are potatoes. Yet, there is still a question if potatoes are healthy or not. The reason why the question is since potatoes have a high glycemic index. This index measures how much a food raises blood sugar levels. Nonetheless, a high potato consumption has been related to increased risk of diabetes. But the method of preparing potatoes will impacts their effects on your health. For instance, cooling potatoes after cooking can significantly rise their amount of resistant starch, if not triple their resistant starch content.
Rice
3.5 billion people see rice as a staple food, but cooling rice after cooking may encourage health by increasing the amount of resistant starch it holds by around 2.5 times.
Pasta
Wheat pasta is commonly consumed worldwide. Still there have not been much research on the effects of cooking and cooling pasta to increase resistant starch. Nevertheless, some research has shown that cooking then cooling wheat can indeed increase resistant starch content. In fact, the resistant starch content can rise from 41% to 88% when wheat was heated and cooled.
Some other foods
Like potatoes, rice and pasta, resistant starch in further foods or ingredients can be increased by cooking and then cooling them. These are for instance barley, beans, peas, and lentils. The issue here is that the research is lacking on these foods.
How you can increase resistant starch intake and not changing your diet
You could increase your resistant starch intake without changing your diet. For instance, if you frequently eat pasta, potatoes, or rice, you may want to consider cooking them a day or two before you want to eat them. The reason is cooling these foods in the fridge overnight or for a few days may rise their resistant starch content. Plus, cooked and cooled foods still have higher resistant starch content after reheating. In fact, this is an easy way to increase your fiber intake since resistant starch is considered a form of fiber.
The closing remarks
Resistant starch is a unique carb since it resists digestion, plus it offers different health benefits. Some might be more resistant starch compared to others, the way food is prepared may also affect how much is present. For instance, you could rise the resistant starch in potatoes, pasta and rice by cooling these foods after cooking and reheating them later.
That all said, increasing resistant starch could offer many health benefits; still there are other ways to increase your fiber intake such as eating fruit. If your fiber intake is enough, then you might not want to follow this idea of cooling down your food first, but if you battle to eat enough fiber, this may be a method you want to think through.
