After fat in the ‘80s, carbohydrates have also had their fair share of time in the media spotlight, with the need or health benefit of carbohydrates being heavily debated. Although no carbohydrate is categorically “bad” and all types or sources can have their place in a healthy, balanced diet, it is resistant starch which defiantly comes towards the top of the list for providing health benefits.
Several studies have researched the benefits of Resistant Starch in humans; with these benefits including weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, gut health, digestion and reduced appetite. Best of all, you can take your favourite starchy carbohydrates and increase their resistant starch content simply by following a few clever tricks which we will discuss below!
- PREP PREP PREP!
Preparing your food carbohydrate foods in advance and allow it to cool will increase the resistant starch content of foods such as oats, potato, rice, pasta, beans. Overnight oats is a tasty way to get a ton of resistant starch!
- SIMPLE SUPPLEMENTATION
One simple and cheap Resistant Starch supplement to add to your next order on Amazon is Bob’s Red Mill unmodified potato starch. It costs less than $10 it will give you about 100 servings! A small amount, around 10g can be added to your favourite foods without altering the taste of texture, this includes shakes, smoothies, yogurts and sauces.
What health benefits could resistant starch provide?
- It increases satiety and reduces food intake over a 24 hour period!
- Reduces fasting blood glucose, an important marker of health and disease.
- Controls blood sugar after a meal, which can help with energy and satiety.
- Improves gut function and health, which is linked to a ton of diseases and closely linked to your body composition.
- Improves insulin sensitivity, key for health, nutrient portioning, gaining muscle and staying lean
- Enhanced nutrient absorption from food, so it actually helps process and digest key nutrients such as magnesium and calcium.
- Reduces the risk of certain diseases and cancers.
- Reduces the risk of diabetes and improves glycemic control
- Reduces the energy density of the diet, key for weight loss and long term weight maintenance.
- Enhances fat burning, via several mechanisms mentioned above!
If you don’t already, focus on eating more resistant starch based foods or add it into your diet via supplementation. While it may not sound as sexy as half the supplements in your cupboard, it likely provides more benefits and has an overwhelming amount of research to support it!
Guest post by Rudy Mawer
If you want to read more on this topic, you can view a recent article by Rudy over on the T nation site, check it out now!
References:
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