One of the most common foods we consume in our every day diet is bread or toast with butter. This can be considered as one of the most common and well known foods in the world. However, how many of us really know the benefits of Resistant Starch?

Resistant Starch or RS for short is a starch that is broken down in the intestines producing no effect on satiety. Resistant Starch only changes in digestion resulting in the emptying of the stomach and only partially digested. This resistant starch has properties that make it an effective aid to maintaining blood sugar homeostasis.

Another natural effect of resistant starch is an increase in feelings of satiety in an individual that potatoes are present in the diet. One study shows that potatoes, when substituted for a portion of the carbohydrate food, lessened the hunger of participants in a study by 15%. Even though the results from the study showed that most subjects actually lost quite a bit of weight, the group who ate the potatoes in addition to the high-carbohydrate food actually gained less weight.

Resistant starch also functions in the body as a prebiotic. Prebiotics are essential for the growth of the beneficial probiotic bacterium called Lactobacillus Plantarum. Like Resistant Starch, prebiotics increase the awareness of the intestines as prebiotics do not get absorbed into the intestines. Rather, they are taken up in the colon where they are fermented by the healthy bacteria allowing them to be eliminated.

Resistance Starch -Resistant Starch and prebiotic effects

In addition to adding more Resistant Starch to our diet, we should also be concerned about other foods that increase our production of acid- inhibitory neurotransmitters. One of the main elements responsible for this change in the release of neurotransmitters is glucose, which by itself, when metabolized in the form of caloric energy by the liver and utilized as energy by the body, will increase the release of many neurotransmitters – especially dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine.

A good example of this is the effect of alcohol. When a person drinks a beer, there is increase in the production of dopamine and serotonin. This is due to the presence of ethanol in the beer, it is the chemical that makes us feel good after a meal. When a person drinks wine, there seems to be a lowering of the effect, although it still is present.

Depending on which type of starch is combined with the alcohol, the change will affect either the production of serotonin or dopamine or, the opposite. The combination will depend on the starch and the alcohol. Most strains of mushrooms produce an effect similar to that of bananas, also onions and tomatoes.

Another factor in the pharmacology of Resistant Starch is due to the way in which resistant starches are processed. They are first broken down in the lab by way of bacteria and this releases the resistant starch molecules. Potato starch goes through this process of refinement to get the starch that is needed for the potato to be usable for humans.

Resistant starches also include any one of a group of carbohydrates that resist being broken down by the bacteria in the large intestine. Usually due to this property they are also referred to as non-digestible carbohydrates. The reason that they are labeled as non-digestible is because they are not broken down in the stomach as other carbohydrates are. They are instead broken down in the large intestine.

Resistant starches are utilized by the body at least partially. They are known as a positive feedback system. The way this works is that when Resistant Starches are consumed with a protein, the Resistant Starches enable the body to take in more protein than it would otherwise.

All of the different claims that are made for Resistant Starch have not been conclusively proven. What we do know is that there are at least 20 species that produce products that either resist or promote digestion. That being said, there is no clear evidence that any one Resistant Starch is more beneficial than another.

So the best way to have a bit of Resistance Starch with your whole grain is to add a bit of a variety to your menu. Have yourself a multi starch day. Throw in some porridge with hearty oats and you will be set.