LOSING OR MAINTAINING WEIGHT MADE EASIER ... RESISTANT STARCH TO THE RESCUE

The writer often heard the term 'Resistant Starch' but never spent the time and effort to learn about it until about two years ago.  The writer's love for eating bread with his meals, a habit he acquired when he was very young, a lifetime ago; to make matters worse, he also loves rice and Pasta.  We all heard of lists showing the Glycemic Index (GI) for various foods, like those listed below included.

• Breads
• Rice
• Cereals (including Oats)
  
• Starchy vegetables (incl. Potatoes)
  
• Baked goods (all kinds)

 For the most part people monitor the food's Glycemic Index to monitor their blood sugars.  However, there is another aspect to this story, namely the weight gain resulting from the consumption of 'High Glycemic' foods.

First we need to understand what happens when we consume foods having a high Glycemic Index. A high Glycemic index indicates that the food will provide a quick boost for the body, in fact, it most likely will provide levels of energy exceeding the amount immediately required by the system, thus the excess will be deposited as fat for future use, in case of a food shortage.  However, most likely, this food shortage never comes because we eat x-number of meals per day, hence the stored fat becomes a permanent resident.

 To solve, that is, to eliminate this unwanted excess energy storage of fat we need a way to slow down the energy supply.  In other words, we need to put the breaks on, so that the body cannot use all the energy at once.  Since we are talking about starches with high Glycemic Indexes, we need to insert a resistance of some kind, which will lower the Glycemic Index, so that the digestive system cannot have quick access to all that was delivered (eaten).

"In 1982, Englyst et al. [2] first named this starch “resistant starch” (RS). In 1991, European Concerted Action confirmed that RS is not digested and absorbed in the small intestine. Instead, it reaches the colon, where it is fermented to variable degrees by gut microbes [5]."

"Synthesis and Functions of Resistant Starch - PMC - NCBI

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

"The research concluded that adding resistant starch to the diet leads to weight reduction and enhances insulin sensitivity, primarily by boosting the presence of B. adolescentis in the gut microbiota.Mar 6, 2024"

Resistant starch for weight loss: New study finds, Medical News Today 

 

So far so good.  It all sounds somewhat technical, the question is, how is this Resistant Starch produced?  To reduce the Glycemic Index of certain foods listed above, the process involves two methods, freezing and 12-hour refrigeration depending on the type of food involved.  Either method will do the job when applied to the applicable food in question.  For breads freezing is the method of choice to produce resistant starch (RS).  Later, when the bread is defrosted with low heat it may reduce the GI a little more.

 For foods like Rice, Pasta, or Potatoes, 12-hour refrigeration is the method, and again, when later heated up for consumption, it will lower the GI some more.  It just requires preparing these foods in advance, for incorporating them into meals later.

 

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