Resistant Starch

There are some people who say, “I’m cutting carbs” and what they mean is “I’m not eating grains or potatoes” and then there’s my brother in law who, most literally, cuts carbs while on a ketosis diet and he will only eat cheese, meat, and certain super-low carb vegetables like cauliflower for a whooping 10g of carbs a day (if that).

It’s no secret that carbohydrates are not created equally. There’s good carbs that you consume by eating fruits, vegetables, legumes, and rice and then  there are carbs from grains such as pasta and bread which get a pretty bad rap. However, there is hope for making grains healthier.

For those of us who enjoy a balanced diet that includes grains there’s a modified form of starch that you can add to your diet to replace the grains you currently eat, it’s called resistant starch. Haven’t heard of it? You’re not alone.

Resistant starches are resistant to digestions which makes them like soluble fiber and can help feed your gut bacteria, control blood sugar, and aid in digestive health. How do you get resistant starch? This is very simple: you cook the food (grain or vegetable, whichever it may be) and then let it cool. The cooling is key. Dishes like pasta salad and potato salad are good examples of resistant starches.

Overnight oats are also a great way to incorporate resistant starch into your diet as well. Oats have many health benefits and adding the extra fruits, seeds, and nut butters to overnight oats makes them great source of nutrients to start your day!

Quinoa is another great way to get resistant starch. Aside from eating quinoa at dinner, you can make it into a cold salad for lunch or like overnight oats, you can eat it for breakfast. Again, keep it cold for those resistant starches!

Potatoes that have been cooked and cooled (like the potatoes in potato salad) are a good source of resistant starch. As I mentioned earlier, legumes and beans also contain large amounts of fiber and resistant starch so don’t be afraid of adding some to your salad! Another, more surprising source of resistant starch, is unripe bananas. You can add then to smoothies as eating them raw is probably not all that good.

I recommend that you continue to research resistant starches to answer any remaining question you may have.