What Is Resistant Starch?

Resistant starches are the starches that are resistant to digestion in the small intestine. Therefore, they survive digestion and do not get absorbed in the small intestine, but then get fermented by the gut bacteria in the large intestine [R, R2, R3].

Resistant starches also don’t increase blood sugar like typical non-resistant (digestible) starches do.

This undigested starch then goes to the large intestine and feeds good bacteria that in turn produce butyrate and vitamin K2, both of which have many positive effects on the body. In addition, the friendly bacteria multiply, which benefits gut and immune health.

Sources of Resistant Starch

Resistant starch hasa low glycemic index, meaning that it has a low impact on blood sugar levels [R, R2].

However, some whole food sources of resistant starch have a combination of resistant and non-resistant starches, so the actual glycemic indices of these foods vary.

There are five different types of resistant starch, as categorized by their sources:

RS Type 1 – Starch that is physically inaccessible to digestion because it is trapped in the fibrous cell walls of plants. RS Type 1 is found in coarsely-ground or whole cereal grains, seeds, and legumes (beans, nuts, peas, and lentils)
RS Type 2 – Non-gelatinized starch has high amylose content. Amylose is a type of starch with linear structure, which makes it more easily packed (crystalized) into a structure that prevents digestion. RS Type 2 is indigestible when it’s raw. RS Type 2 is found in starchy fruits (green bananas), raw vegetables (potatoes), and high-amylose starches (maize starch)
RS Type 3 – Retrograded starch that forms after type 1 or 2 are cooked and then cooled. Type 3 can be reheated at low temperatures to keep the starch from becoming digestible. RS Type 3 is found in bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. Cooked potatoes and banana starches lose their resistance, but cooked high-amylose maize starch partially retains resistance to digestion [R]
RS Type 4 – Starch that has been chemically modified (esterified starches) to resist digestion. RS Type 4 is chemically modified starch found in processed foods like bread and crackers. Examples are hi-maize starch, cross-linked starches, starch esters and ethers, and cyclodextrins [R, R2, R3]
RS Type 5 – Starch with amylopectin (a type of starch with non-linear, branching structure) that has been heated with oil and form a helical structure that makes it resistant to digestion [R]

All types of RS are beneficial for health, but they have different effects on your body [R].

For example, types 1, 2, and 4 are good for lowering blood sugar levels, while types 2 and 3 for weight loss and fat loss [R, R2, R3].

Cooking Methods That Increase Type 3 Resistant Starch Content

1) Cooking and Cooling Carbs Generates Type 3 Resistant Starch

When foods with resistant starch are cooked, the starch loses resistance. There are cooking methods that maintain resistant starch content. When starch that is high in amylose is heated in water, the starch granules absorb water and swell up. After the cooked starch is cooled, the starch (amylose) molecules rearrange structures (crystalize) and become less digestible. This process is called retrogradation.

Cooked and cooled starchy foods with resistant starch may be reheated at low temperatures (below 175 °F) to maintain resistant starch content [R].

SOURCE: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268005X13000970 Fig. 7. Schematic of proposed spring dextrin disturbing on starch retrogradation in excess water. (a) Clustered model of amylopectin, (b) branching a double helix onto a single helix, (c) SD disturbing on starch retrogradation.

2) Baked and Chilled Potatoes Have More Resistant Starch Than Boiled Potatoes

Baking does not degrade the starch as much as boiling does. Chilled potatoes (40 °F ) have more resistant starch than hot (150 °F) or reheated potatoes (40 °F for 6 days and reheated at 150 °F). The chilled potatoes have retrograded starch, which is less digestible than cooked starch [R].

3) Cooked and Cooled Rice Contains Resistant Starch

Steaming, pressure cooking, and stir-frying rice produce higher levels of resistant starch than boiling rice. Cooling the rice after increases content of resistant starch [R, R2].

You can learn more about Joe’s resistant starch diet for weight loss in this post.

Supplemental Sources of Resistant Starch

Besides consuming starchy fruits, vegetables, and foods listed above, an easy way to include natural resistant starch in your diet is to add resistant starch to your foods.

source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5223246/

1) Raw Potato Starch

Raw potato starch has by far the highest content of resistant starch and the lowest glycemic index. Corn has the next highest content of resistant starch, followed by tapioca, wheat, and rice [R].

2) Hi-Maize

Hi-maize is a high-amylose resistant starch that has been treated with heat and moisture to significantly increases its resistant starch content [R].

If you’re sensitive to plant-based starches, Hi-maize is a good hypoallergenic alternative. It does not come from a nightshade plant and the processing destroys most plant-based immune stimulants. (However, if you have an IgE true allergy against corn, I would suggest you avoid it.)

Hi-maize has a uniquely high amount of resistant starch and dietary fiber. Hi-maize starch is 50 percent resistant starch. One serving (11 grams) contains 7 grams of dietary fiber (source: Ingredion). Unlike other natural sources of resistant starch, Hi-maize has a high gelatinization temperature that ensures its ability to survive and remain resistant through most normal food processing conditions [R, R2].

Hi-maize is used in a variety of processed foods, including low-fat snacks, high-fiber bread, noodles, pasta, breakfast cereal, and gluten-free products [R].

Our Personal Experiences with Resistant Starch

We use a lot of Hi-Maize at SelfHacked HQ, which is why we include a lot of recipes that contain Hi-Maize in the Lectin Avoidance Diet Cookbook. We also often recommend Hi-Maize to our clients, especially ones who have digestive problems, dysbiosis, or are figuring out which whole-food sources of carbohydrates works for them.

Joe’s experience: I don’t tolerate nightshades, so I can’t use potato starches. I personally am sensitive to many plant-based substances, so I usually don’t do well with a lot of vegetables or tubers. I tolerate Hi-Maize well because it has already stripped off most substances that provoke immune responses. I find that if I don’t consistently supplement with Hi-Maize and probiotics, then I’m more likely to get food poisoning (even from foods that don’t seem to bother other people).

If I go overboard with the Hi-Maize, it causes nausea.

Nattha’s experience: I tolerate white potatoes and white rice, so cooked and cooled white rice and white potatoes are staples in my diet. I usually pressure cook them to reduce the harmful lectins anyway. I find that even though these foods contain resistant starch, they still raise my blood sugar (see graphs below), so I typically limit these for supper. The calming effects of meals with rice or potatoes help me sleep better and deeper at night.

I also supplement with Hi-Maize or potato starches in my bone broth for breakfast and find that it does not have the same calming effects as the rice and potatoes. The morning dose of resistant starch seems to help me feel full longer and improves my cognitive function in the morning.

I have also personally tried the Potato Hacks for three days, so here I will share my results.

The Potato Hack Diet Results

The Potato Hack Diet is based on the assumption that

Cooked and cooled potatoes contain resistant starch, so consuming only cooked and cooled potatoes helps with rapid weight loss
The changes in the gut microbiome from high amounts of resistant starch should help with weight loss
The low palatability of the diet should reduce appetite

I had always felt that the cooked and cooled potatoes were more filling than the freshly cooked potatoes. In addition, if I cooled down the potatoes, I wouldn’t get the carb crash from eating them.

So, I designed an experiment to answer t questions. It’s hypothesis-driven and somewhat controlled experiment, but it’s not a blinded study.

Do the cooking and cooling actually decrease the glycemic impact of the potatoes?
Does the Potato Hack actually work for fat loss?

To establish a baseline, first I used my glucometer to measure my post-meal blood sugar until the blood sugar levels returned to pre-meal (around 90 mg/dL) levels.

x-axis = time after meals (minutes)

As expected, my blood sugar from my typical low carb meals didn’t rise much. It went up to around 100 mg/dL and came back down after a few hours. If I added rice to the meal, this did increase the blood sugar, but it wasn’t excessively high.

Next, I got myself about 15 lbs of white potatoes, cooked them in a big batch, and cooled them down in the fridge. The only seasoning allowed would be sea salt and pepper.

In one meal, I ate the potatoes that were cooked and cooled. In another meal, I ate the potatoes that were cooked but not cooled. Then, I measured my blood sugar at in the hours after eating it until the blood sugar would return to baseline levels (around 90 mg/dL).

It turns out my blood sugar did go up really high whether the potatoes were cooled down or not. However, while all the potatoes gave me very high post-meal blood sugar, the cooked and not cooled potatoes gave me more of a reactive hypoglycemic response that the cooked and cooled potatoes did not. That meant that I was jittery and my heart was racing while my blood sugar dipped to around 70 mg/dL. I suspect that this was because the cooked and cooled potatoes mitigated some of the insulin responses.

In terms of weight loss, I tracked my body weight and body fat (using a Tanita scale) before the Potato Hacks and each day during it. I found that both the body weight and body fat went down.

My body weight went down from 161 lbs to 159.6 lbs. My body fat went down from 31.6% to 30.5%. At 1.4 lbs and 1.1% body fat over the span of 3 days, this is pretty fast fat loss for someone who is not obese, since I almost never lose more than 1 lb per week.

Note that the Tanita scale might not be the most accurate way to measure body fat, but comparatively if I measured the same way at the same time every day, this was reliable.

Other experiences: I was significantly more fatigued and overall didn’t feel great during these three days. Inflammation levels were about the same otherwise. I usually don’t have any problems with digestive function and elimination, and these remained the same.

Conclusion: I would recommend this hack to someone who wants to lose fat or break through a fat loss plateau, although not if you are diabetic or severely insulin resistant.

Technical: Types of Starch

Amylose vs. Amylopectin

Two components of starch – Amylose (linear) and amylopectin (branched)

There are two types of starch based on their branching chemical structures, i.e. amylose and amylopectin.

Digestible vs. Resistant Starch

Starches are also categorized based on digestibility and glycemic index (speed at which the starch increases blood sugar):

Rapidly digestible starch – causes a sudden increase in blood glucose level after ingestion. Rapidly digestible starch is found in white bread and sugary breakfast cereals
Slowly digestible starch – digests completely in the small intestine at a lower rate than rapidly digestible starch. Pasta, brown rice, barley, oatmeal, and whole wheat bread contain slowly digestible starch
Resistant starch – does not absorb in the small intestine and is fermented in the large intestine

Eating resistant starch might seem counterintuitive if you have been told that a low-carb diet is healthier. However, resistant starch is an exception. It supports healthy blood sugar levels, helps with weight loss, and feeds good gut bacteria.

Read this post to learn about the science behind resistant starch, including all the health benefits and side effects. If you are interested in hacking your gut microbiome, this post is a must-read.

CONTENTS [HIDE]

Part 2 of a 2-Part Series

This post is a continuation of a 2-part series:

Part 1: What Resistant Starch Is, How to Increase It, and SelfHacked’s Personal Experiences
Part 2: 26 Proven Health Benefits of Resistant Starch: Metabolism, Autoimmunity, Cancer, and more

Health Benefits of Resistant Starch – Mechanisms

Health benefits of resistant starch are derived from many properties, including:

By acting like a dietary fiber, resistant starch slows down digestion and absorption in the small intestine and bulks up the stool in the large intestine [R]
By feeding good bacteria like Bifidobacteria in the large intestine [R]
By reducing insulin resistance from inflammation [R]
By being raw materials for the production of short-chain fatty acids (butyrate, acetate, propionate) and other beneficial metabolites in the large intestine [R]
By stimulating fat burning and glycogen storage rather than fat storage [R]
Short-chain fatty acids support intestinal barrier function (i.e., help repair leaky gut), and healthy secretions of hormones and enzymes in the gut [R]

Resistant Starch and Metabolic Health

1) Resistant Starch Reduces Blood Glucose Levels After Meals

There are many ways in which resistant starch helps normalize blood glucose, including:

By behaving like a dietary fiber, it slows down carbohydrate digestion and absorption [R]
By activating glycogen synthesis genes, it causes the body to store more carbohydrates in our muscles and liver (in rats) [R]
By reducing insulin resistance [R]

Supplementing the diet with resistant corn starch controls blood glucose levels in overweight but otherwise healthy individuals [R].

One study found that consuming high-amylose maize resistant starch daily for six weeks improved glucose balance in 18 overweight adults. Glucose balance is the process of maintaining normal blood glucose levels [R].

2) Resistant Starch Improves Insulin Sensitivity

Insulin resistance occurs when cells fail to respond to insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels, and it is associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Resistant starch intake improves insulin sensitivity and reduces the amount of insulin required to manage blood sugar in both animals and humans.

Resistant starch might improve insulin sensitivity by:

Increasing excretion of certain bile acids into the gut, which helps decrease insulin resistance through GLP-1 [R, R2]
Reducing fat tissue macrophages, which are immune cells that drive the development of insulin resistance [R, R2, R3, R4, R5]
Short-chain fatty acids (fermentation products of resistant starch) signal to the brain and liver to reduce glucose production, which may improve insulin sensitivity [R]
Increasing adiponectin, which improves insulin sensitivity by increasing fatty acid oxidation and inhibiting liver glucose production [R]
Increasing ghrelin, which inhibits glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from the pancreas [R]

3) Resistant Starch Improves Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes is a group of factors that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Risk factors include large waistline, low HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and blood sugar levels [R].

In one study of 20 healthy adults, resistant starch decreased the amount of insulin needed after food intake, which helped treat metabolic syndrome [R].

Adding resistant starch to the diets of patients with metabolic syndrome improved cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and insulin sensitivity [R, R2].

4) Resistant Starch May Treat Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs when individuals develop insulin resistance. It is caused by genetics, obesity, high blood glucose, and inflammation.

Resistant starch potentially reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in animals and overweight adults by improving insulin sensitivity, reducing blood glucose, and reducing blood fat levels [R, R2, R3].

Supplementing the diet with resistant starch may prevent complications resulting from excess blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes [R].

One study of 56 women with type 2 diabetes found that resistant starch improved blood glucose levels, reduced toxins released by bacteria, and increased antioxidants [R].

Short-chain fatty acid increases glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is a hormone that lowers blood glucose by stimulating insulin release. GLP-1 may treat diabetes by lowering blood sugar [R, R2].

5) Resistant Starch Helps Reduce Blood Triglycerides

One animal study found that resistant starch impaired dietary fat absorption, which prevents an increase in blood triglyceride levels after a meal. Resistant starch also induces bowel movement [R].

This was confirmed in both humans and rats, as resistant starch reduces triglycerides after meals [R].

6) Resistant Starch Improves Cholesterol Levels

Adding resistant starch to bread significantly reduces total cholesterol levels in rats [R, R2].

Resistant starch decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol levels while decreasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in humans and pigs [R, R2].

7) Resistant Starch Helps Prevent Heart Diseases

Including resistant starch in your diet could improve heart health by lowering cholesterol levels [R].

In a double-blind study of 86 individuals, resistant starch type 4 reduced abnormal fat levels in the blood. Thus, including this starch in your diet could promote heart health [R].

The hardening of blood vessels is often a precursor to heart disease. Resistant starch potentially reduces the risk factors involved in the hardening of blood vessels in overweight individuals [R].

Beans, which are high in resistant starch, reduce cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease and diabetes [R].

8) Resistant Starch Slows Down Chronic Kidney Disease Progression

Chronic kidney disease is often a complication of heart disease and diabetes [R].

A diet with high-amylose maize starch slows down chronic kidney disease (CKD) by decreasing oxidative stress, reducing inflammation, and preventing colon lining damage in rats [R].

Supplementing the diet with resistant starch decreased toxic metabolite (indoxyl sulfate and p-cresol sulfate) levels in 56 CKD patients on kidney dialysis [R].

Resistant Starch Helps with Weight Loss and Maintenance

9) Resistant Starch Promotes Healthy Energy Balance and Prevents Weight Gain

In obesity-prone rats, dietary resistant starch and regular exercise prevented weight gain by reducing the energy gap between the drive to eat and suppressed energy requirements [R].

Resistant starch reduces fat accumulation and blood glucose levels, and increases the breakdown of fat through fermentation in the intestines, thus helping with obesity [R, R2].

10) Resistant Starch Helps Burn Fat

Resistant starch helps increase fat burning by:

Reducing fat accumulation and increasing fat oxidation after meals (both rats and humans) [R]
Forcing the body to break down fat for energy by inhibiting glucose use in humans [R]
Decreasing fat production in the body, while increasing the production of phospholipids, which are main components of cell membranes [R]

11) Resistant Starch Reduces Appetite

Consuming dietary resistant starch increases the appetite-reducing hormone peptide YY (PYY), which promotes satiety and fullness [R, R2, R3, R4].

A study of 20 healthy adults found that consuming resistant starch over a 24-hour period significantly reduced the amount of food eaten. Although food intake was lower, there was no association between food consumption and how subjects rated their appetite [R].

Resistant Starch and Digestive Health

12) Resistant Starch Is a Prebiotic

Prebiotics stimulate the growth of good gut bacteria (probiotics).

By increasing the number of good bacteria in the large intestine, resistant starches have several health benefits, such as improving immune function, preventing the growth of bad bacteria, normalizing energy production, and even lower cancer risks [R, R2, R3, R4].

Technical: Bacteria phyla and species changes from consumption of resistant starches in humans.

Abundance of bacterial taxa that were impacted by RS consumption in fecal samples of ten human subjects. Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC299393

RS4 decreases Firmicutes (p<0.001) by more than 10% on average and increases Bacteroidetes (p<0.01) and Actinobacteria (p<0.05) by around 5% each, while also significantly increasing bifidobacterium [R].

However, this study also found a large individual variation in the changes in gut flora in response to resistant starch consumption among the 10 subjects.

The reduction of Firmicutes and increase in Bacteroidetes is associated with leanness [R].

13) Resistant Starch Increases Acidity in the Stomach

In animal studies, fermentation of resistant starch produced short-chain fatty acids, which increase gut acidity [R, R2].

Increasing gut acidity improves absorption of minerals, increases the growth of beneficial bacteria, and suppresses the growth of harmful bacteria [R, R2, R3].

14) Resistant Starch Improves Gut Function

The short-chain fatty acid butyrate (fermentation product of resistant starch) provides energy for colon cells and is essential for promoting large bowel function. Populations at low risk of large bowel diseases have high dietary resistant starch intake and high butyrate levels [R].

Resistant potato starch increases butyrate concentrations in the intestines, which benefits gut microbiota. Butyrate also protects gut lining and reduces inflammation [R].

15) Resistant Starch Helps Treat Diarrhea

Consuming resistant starch helps treat infectious diarrhea in both humans and animals by reducing harmful bacteria in the gut [R].

Resistant starch increases short-chain fatty acid concentrations, which improves the treatment of acute diarrhea in children under 5 years old [R].

Resistant Starch Helps with Autoimmunity

16) Resistant Starch Helps with Leaky Gut Syndrome

Intestinal permeability, which results from a damaged intestinal barrier, affects the immune function and puts individuals at risk for other diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, autoimmune hepatitis, and type 1 diabetes [R].

Intestinal microbiota breaks down resistant starch into short-chain fatty acids (vital nutrients for gut lining cells), which reduces the disruption of tight junctions between the cells that line the colon. The colon lining is a protective barrier that allows nutrients into the colon while keeping harmful pathogens out [R, R2].

17) Resistant Starch Reduces Inflammation and Balances the Immune System

The intestinal lining is affected by intestinal microbiota and the immune system, affecting barrier function, the composition of the microbiota, and immune balance [R].

Resistant starch helps balance the immune system by:

Altering the composition of the gut bacteria [R, R2]
Stimulating Treg, which lowers Th1, Th2, and Th17 dominance [R]
Suppressing inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-gamma, increasing anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, and increasing PPAR-gamma through the increase in butyrate levels [R, R2]

18) Resistant Starch Reduces Oxidative Stress

Inflammation and autoimmunity increase oxidative stress. Unmitigated oxidative stress and lower antioxidant enzymes worsen autoimmunity [R].

In rats with chronic kidney diseases, resistant starch feeding reduced oxidative stress through increasing activities of antioxidant genes, including Nrf2, SOD, and glutathione peroxidase [R].

In diabetics, resistant starch consumption also protects the blood vessels from oxidative damage due to high blood sugar [R].

Resistant starch increases gut Lactobacillus, which produces antioxidants. Therefore, supplementing the diet with resistant starch may reduce oxidative stress and improve the function of blood vessel linings in patients with type 2 diabetes [R, R2].

19) Resistant Starch Treats Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Resistant starch reduces the severity of inflammatory bowel disease in animals [R].

Isomaltodextrin, a type of resistant starch, reduces inflammation in gut diseases by suppressing pro-inflammatory and increasing anti-inflammatory proteins [R].

Dietary fiber like resistant starch modifies the gut microbiota and increases short-chain fatty acid production, which reduces inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease [R].

Resistant Starch Helps with Nutrient Absorption and Availability

20) Resistant Starch Helps Treat Vitamin D Deficiency

In rats with type 1 diabetes, consuming resistant starch helped treat vitamin D imbalance by improving nutrient and vitamin re-absorption in the kidney (Megalin-mediated endocytosis) [R, R2].

Resistant starch maintains vitamin D balance in rats with type 2 diabetes by preventing urinary excretion of vitamin D-binding proteins [R].

21) Resistant Starch Increases Mineral Absorption

Raw resistant starch (but not retrograded types) have been shown to help with magnesium absorption [R, R2].

In pigs, a diet including 16% resistant starches significantly increased the absorption of calcium and iron in the intestine [R].

Resistant Starch Prevents Cancer

22) Resistant Starch Reduces the Negative Effects of Meat-Rich Diets

Red and processed meats contain a high amount of heme iron, which can increase nitroso compounds that damage DNA in the colon, thin the mucous layer, and cause cell death [R].

In addition, high protein diets may trigger high levels of IGF-1, which promotes tumor progression [R].

Resistant starch can mitigate these effects by [R]:

Protecting DNA from oxidative damage caused by the nitroso compounds
Reducing MMP activity by increasing TIMP (inhibitor of MMP) enzyme levels, which prevents cancer growth and metastasis
Reducing inflammation
Reducing insulin and IGF-1 (although the effects were not statistically significant)

The health effects of resistant starch appeared to be through butyrate production and an increase in Lactobacilli bacteria [R].

23) Resistant Starch Prevents and Treats Colorectal Cancer

Resistant starch may reduce the risk of colon cancer by protecting colon lining cells and decreasing risk of tumor growth [R, R2, R3].

Resistant starch prevents cancer initiation and progression [R].

In rats with colorectal cancer, resistant starch increased butyrate concentrations and was associated with reduced tumor incidence, number, and size [R].

In rats, resistant starch protected colon lining cells from DNA damage and reduced cancer-causing toxins in the gut [R].

Moreover, the combination of resistant starch and the bacteria Bifidobacterium lactis protects against the development of colon cancer in rats [R, R2].

24) Resistant Starch Aids Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

A resistant starch diet is associated with a change in the gut microbiome and a slowed pancreatic cancer tumor progression in mice [R].

Resistant Starch Affects Brain Function

Resistant starch exerts some of its health benefits through the gut-brain axis because the brain affects the gut bacteria and vice versa. In addition, butyrate is a substance that is absorbed through the stomach, and crosses the blood-brain barrier (read this post to learn about the health benefits of butyrate) [R].

Therefore, resistant starch may help with brain function. However, most research on this topics is done on animals.

25) Resistant Starch May Increase Dopamine and Preserve Dopaminergic Neurons

Also, since resistant starch increases butyrate concentrations, it may indirectly increase dopamine levels by reducing the degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons [R, R2].

This suggests that resistant starch and butyrate may help with diseases that affect dopaminergic neurons, such as Parkinson’s.

26) Other Effects of Resistance Starch on Brain Function

Mice fed with HA-7 resistant starch exhibited an increase in anxiety-like behavior [R].

However, these mice have significantly less cortisol level compared to mice fed with normal cornstarch.

Resistant starch also makes the brain more responsive to glucose and improves motor coordination in rats [R].

Limitations and Negative Effects of Resistant Starch

1) Resistant Starch Effects Vary Among Individuals

The effects of resistant starch depend on the composition of gut microbiota, which varies among individuals. Resistant starch treatment should be personalized to maintain its beneficial effects [R, R2, R3].

2) Resistant Starch Effects Depend on the Type of Resistant Starch

Resistant starch types 2 and 4 influence different parts of the microbiota. Specific bacterial populations can be targeted depending on the type of resistant starch [R].

One study found that resistant starch type 4 decreased blood glucose more than resistant starch type 2 [R].

Another study found that resistant starch type 4 was better at reducing oxidative stress levels than resistant starch type 2 [R].

3) Resistant Starch May Cause Stomach Discomfort

Foods high in resistant starch, like beans, cannot be digested and can lead to symptoms of stomach discomfort [R].

Consuming too many non-digestible carbohydrates like resistant starch may cause stomach discomfort, gas, and diarrhea [R].

Resistant Starch