What is Resistant Starch

You may have heard the phrase resistant starch in the news lately.  Basically, a resistant starch is a starch (carbohydrate) that doesn't get digested  (its resistant) until it hits the colon where it feeds the good bacteria.  This is why it is such a popular topic.

Some examples of resistant starch is raw potato, green bananas.  You can cook potatoes and rice and then let it cool and it will act like resistant starch by a process called retrogradation.

There are specialty flours now, such as potato flower, then can be taken raw by the tablespoon.

So these resistant starches act almost like fermented soluble fiber and feed the good bacteria in the colon.  Butyrate is formed from this process.  It is an important short chain fatty acid that is very beneficial to health.

It has potential anti inflammatory properties and may help reduce colorectal cancers.  It may be useful for digestive disorders. 

It seems that resistant starch is highly personable and that you can only know if it helps you by experimenting with it.  One easy way is a tablespoon of raw potato starch.  This has about 8 grams of resistant starch and no carbs.

A few other potential benefits are it's ability to help insulin sensitivity, increase the feeling of fullness for people trying to lose weight and help lower blood sugar levels.

It seems resistant starch may well be worth a try.