Resistant Starch - a Dietary Superstar

Starch is a major component or carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice and wheat. There are three types of starch; rapidly digestible starch, slowly digestible starch and resistant starch.

A term first coined in the 1980s, resistant starch was found predominantly in natural, whole plant foods and is not digested in the small intestine. This means it enters your colon unchanged where it is then fermented.

The benefits of resistant starches

• Improves intestinal function and reduced hunger

• Improves gut health by contributing to the production of fatty acids which maintain the gut barrier and regulate inflammation

• Controls the glycaemic response after eating, meaning the absorption of your food is slower so your blood sugar doesn’t “spike”

• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers

• Part of resistant starch is also classified as dietary fibre

• Prebiotic properties to improve gut health

Examples of resistant starches

Grains: whole grains, oats, barley

Legumes: lentils, beans and pulses.

Tubers: raw potato, plantain, yams

Processed foods: wholegrain breads and pastas

Cooked and cooled starches (potatoes, pasta, rice, oatmeal and some cassava varieties) - even if you reheat them later. Great for meal prep.

Sources

Bojarczuk, A. et al.. (2022) Health benefits of resistant starch: A review of the literature. Journal of functional foods, 93, p.105094.

Li, H. et al. (2024) Resistant starch intake facilitates weight loss in humans by reshaping the gut microbiota. Nature Metabolism, 6(3), pp.578-597.

Chen, Z. (2024) Resistant starch and the gut microbiome: Exploring beneficial interactions and dietary impacts. Food Chemistry: X, 21, p.101118.

Guo, J., Tan, L. and Kong, L. (2022) Multiple levels of health benefits from resistant starch. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 10, p.100380.