Why your gut bugs love Resistant Starch

I bet your asking what the heck is Resistant Starch? Good question... Resistant starch is a form of dietary starch that is resistant to digestion in the small intestine and instead reaches the large intestines. "WHAT?! So what happens to it if we don't digest it?" Great question again!! These types of starches in the diet offer fuel for our microbiome (gut bugs) rather than ATP for energy production. When broken down by our microbiome they produce short chain fatty acids, the most important being butyrate. Butyrate helps to reduce the pH in your colon, & reduce inflammation in your gut. Resistance starches when broken down support healthy digestion and protect against infections and dysbiosis.

Resistant starches can improve your body's ability to respond to insulin. The higher your insulin sensitivity, the better your body will be able to handle high blood sugar.

Since resistant starches are harder to digest, your body will use up more energy trying to break them down. This means you won’t get hungry as quickly and as a result you’ll be eating less. Resistant starches have only two and a half calories per gram, while regular starches contain four calories per gram. Therefore it’s a great addition to your diet if you’re looking to lose or maintain weight.

The CSIRO recommends intakes of resistant starch of 15-20 grams per day are recommended for supporting bowel health.

The following foods are particularly high in resistant starch:

• Rice or potatoes that have been cooked and cooled
• Whole grains such as barley and oats
• Plantains
• Green bananas (not yellow or ripe bananas, which have regular starch)

Here are some ways you can add more resistant starches to your diet:

• Using uncooked oats to make overnight oats, which consists of soaking the oats in milk or yogurt. Overnight oats have more resistant starch than cooked oatmeal.
• Cooking potatoes, pasta, beans, and rice and allowing them to cool in the refrigerator before eating. Reheating these items after they have cooled off won’t affect the levels of resistant starch.