Too Good to Resist!
I was never a fan (or follower) of low-carb diets; I always felt they were more hype than help and frustrating for those stuck in a cycle of weight loss and re-gain.
Recently, I’ve been reading about the growing interest in “resistant starches” and their potential to expedite weight loss, prevent high blood pressure and protect against diabetes.
While you might not know much about resistant starches, I’m willing to bet you’ve been eating them for a long time. That said, I thought I’d devote today’s entry to this good-for-you carbohydrate.
Resistant starch is actually a type of fiber found naturally in potatoes, beans and legumes (black-eyed peas, kidney and soy beans, lentils, etc.) and grains (brown rice, barley, etc.). How it got its name is that it “resists” digestion and doesn’t go into the bloodstream, and since it can’t be absorbed or digested, it doesn’t act like other carbohydrates which are stored as body fat when you eat too much.
Here are some other benefits:
- Resistant starches help control blood sugar levels. After you eat a meal containing resistant starches, blood sugar and insulin levels are depressed. This is encouraging news for those with diabetes.
- Research indicates that butyrate, a good-for-you fatty acid produced by the digestion of resistant starches, may help prevent
colon cancer - Resistant starch also triggers satiety-inducing hormones, so a meal including potatoes or beans may prompt you to eat less
and feel full sooner
So, add yams, corn and bananas to your shopping list and do your body good!
I have a question instead of a comment – can you provide examples of “non-resistant” starches? It would help me discern when selecting a starch for my diet.
Hi, Jonathan. Questions are always welcome, and yours is a good one. If you’d like to incorporate foods with resistant starches into your diet, here are some suggestions. For breakfast, think oatmeal, bananas and wholegrain breads. For lunch a chilled pasta will do the trick (think pasta salad). Chick peas or kidney beans tossed into a salad is also a good idea, and during dinner, consider navy bean soup, black-eyed peas, edamame (which you can also enjoy in Japanese restaurants) and lentils. Good luck!
I’ve heard that the food has to cool down for it to become resistant starch. Question is, how “cool” does it have to be?
That’s a good question, Kooritsuki.
Most foods containing resistant starch (i.e., beans, legumes, cereals), don’t need to be cooled to reap their benefits. Some foods, such as bananas and plantains, don’t even need to be cooked to derive a benefit. Rice and potatoes, though, when cooked then cooled to room temperature, produce 4% – 5% resistant starch, though it’s such a small amount, I’d continue to enjoy those foods warm. If you’d really like to make the most of chilled rice and potatoes, try cold rice and vegetable salads and potato salad made with low-fat mayo. If you need more recipe ideas, just let me know!