List of Resistant Starch Foods

Diet Bites defines resistant starch as a "starch which goes undigested by the body." Resistant starches are believed to aid in the maintenance of blood sugar levels, digestion management, as well as maintaining regularity of the bowels and weight loss. Resistant starches can be beneficial to the overall human diet when prepared properly and consumed daily.

Resistant Starch Food List
Bananas, corn , potatoes, yams, pasta, pearl Barley, whole grain bread, navy beans, oatmeal, lentils and brown rice are some of the common resistant starch foods recommended by Diet Bites. Navy beans have the highest resistant starch at 9.8 grams (per 1/2 cup). Bananas are the second highest at 4.7 grams (1 medium); yams at 4.0 grams (per 1/2 cup), and potatoes at 3 grams (per 1/2 cup). Whole grain bread and oatmeal have the lowest resistent startch, 0.5 grams for bread, and 0.7 grams for oatmeal.

Benefits of Resistant Starches
According to Prevention, "Resistant starch is a type of dietary fiber naturally found in many carbohydrate-rich foods. ... It gets its name because it 'resists' digestion in the body, and though this is true of many types of fiber, what makes resistant starch so special is the powerful impact it has on weight loss and overall health."

Resistant starches are not digested, though they do travel through the digestive tract--directly to the large intenstine. It is their failure to digest that makes resistant starches most effective. As the fat and oil from regular starches are distributed throughout the body, resistant starches are not, thereby being eliminated from the body much quicker. As per Prevention, resistant starches are natural fat-burners, further increasing satiety, and diminishing hunger. "Resistant starch is bulky, so it takes up space in your digestive system. And because you can't digest or absorb it, the starch never enters your bloodstream. That means it bypasses the fate of most carbohydrates, which get socked away as body fat," informs Prevention.

Butyrate, an enzyme created by resistant starch is believed to nurture the colon, thereby aiding in the prevention of colon cancer, Prevention states. It also causes pH balance in the intestines, which boosts the immune system, further demolishing free radicals.

Recommended Intake
According to Diet Bites, the method in which foods are prepared actually impacts the amount of resistant starch found in particular food sources. As of 2010, there is no recommended amount of resistant starch for consumption, though Prevention suggests 4 grams of resistant starch daily, eaten cool or at room temperature. Chilled potato salad and potato soup, and frozen bananas are a few of the many recommended recipes offered online via Prevention.Com.

Possible Disadvantages
According to Nutrition and Metabolism, "little is known about the impact of RS on fat metabolism." Yet, in recent studies performed by BioMed Central, LTD, as per Nutrition and Metabolism, "replacement of 5.4 percent of total dietary carbohydrate with RS significantly increased post-prandial lipid oxidation and therefore could decrease fat accumulation in the long term."

To date, there are no specific disadvantages of a RS diet. Overall, incorporating resistant starches in one's diet can minimize the accumulation of fat.