Have You Heard of Resistant Starch?
Thursday January 24, 2008
A couple of years ago, while researching how our bodies use carbohydrates, I became interested in the benefits of resistant starch, a type of starch that is not digested in the small intestine (so does not cause a rise in blood glucose). Yesterday I watched a seminar on the Web about the most recent research in this area. I find the topic fascinating. It turns out that there is not that much that is different from the time I wrote an article about resistant starch about 18 months ago, but the data continues to accumulate in favor of the benefits of this starch. In particular, I was interested in the evidence that fermentation of resistant starch in the colon may be an effective way to produce substances which protect the colon from DNA damage which could lead to cancer. Also, there is evidence that chemical changes are produced that could help prevent obesity and diabetes. The challenge is figuring out how low-carb eaters can get more into our diets. Beans are probably the best whole-food way of getting it for us, or we can buy the starch and add to smoothies and such. I have a recipe for my flax meal bread with resistant starch added.Photo © Kristian Birchall
Super Bowl Recipe Exchange
Diana, our Guide to Southern Food, has a great recipe:
Pulled Pork Barbecue: Serve this hearty and delicious shredded pork with your favorite slaw. (You can include hamburger buns for those who eat carbs.) Keep the pulled pork hot in a slow cooker and let your guests fix their own plates. I recommend using my Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce for this recipe, and serving it with Low-Carb Cole Slaw.
Comments
Hi Laura,I am Egyptian,You said that beans are best source of resistant starch,well..In Egypt we have the popular recipy(fool medammes)which is dry broad beans,we soak it in water over night,we get rid of the soaking water, then we bring it to boil and leave it to simmer for 4 hours or until it becomes soft.We use the softened dry beans in making different dishes..1)we add to it olive oil or flax oil or any other oil and lemone juice and salt and mash it with fork and eat it with pita bread.2)Another way is to fry some garlic mince in oil, add minced tomato, salt,simmer few minutes ,mash with fork,eat with pita bread.3)Add tahini dip to the first method or some green salad or mash in it a boild egg or all together.
Yum. Do you know if broad beans and fava beans are the same thing?
yes,broad beans is fava beans.we eat it mainly in breakfast .May I ask you about its GI & glycemic load &if it is recommended in the low carb diet and south beach diet or not? I forgot to tell you that I learnt about low carb diet from your site and I lost 7KG in 14 weeks and my son lost 8KG, I like much reading your writings and I learnt a lot from it…thanks a lot to you .
I’m so glad to hear low-carb eating is working so well for you!
I don’t have a particular GI for broad beans, but here are some other beans:
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/glycemicindlist_4.htm
In general, canned beans have a higher GI than beans you soak and cook yourself. I assume that there is less resistant starch in canned beans, as the canning process must break them down somewhat.
Best wishes –
Laura
I am very glad of your answer,I was not thinking that I am loosing weight at a good rate,but you encourged me to reach my goal and have a continuous healthy low carb life style ,thanks a lot.