The German health insurance fund said that resistant starch is a special form of starch that forms when foods containing it, such as pasta, rice, potatoes and legumes such as peas, beans or lentils, are cooled.
The fund explained that the name resistant starch is due to its resistance to digestive enzymes in the small intestine, whose function is to break down food components and make them usable in the body. Then, the starch reaches the large intestine undigested and serves as food for health-promoting gut bacteria.
Starch molecules that are broken down by heating rearrange themselves in the food when it cools, and cannot be broken down by the digestive enzyme amylase, which breaks down starch, even if the food is heated again. Therefore, the body receives less energy in the form of calories from resistant starch than from the starch found in freshly cooked or baked products, which helps with weight loss.
low blood sugar
Resistant starch helps to keep blood sugar low and develops so-called prebiotic properties in the large intestine, which means that the bacteria that live there can ferment it, and during this fermentation a specific fatty acid called butyric acid (butyrate) is formed, which has a very positive effect on the intestine, as it:
– Provides energy to colon cells.
– It stimulates cell division and cell renewal in the intestinal mucosa.
– It removes toxins from harmful substances.
– It may neutralize cancer-causing bile acids.
People with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease benefit from this mechanism. Along with other active nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, butyric acid is part of the nutritional treatment of these diseases.