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Ask a Dietitian: What is Resistant Starch…and how can it benefit your health?

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Text on a backdrop image of cooked pasta, cooked potatoes and cooked riceResistant starch is a type of fibre that resists digestion in the small intestine, and it can have health benefits.

One way to create resistant starch is to cook and then cool / refrigerate certain types of carbohydrates, such as potatoes, pasta and rice. This process (called “retrogradation”) changes the structure of some of the original starch to create a resistant starch that doesn’t get digested. The amount of resistant starch doesn’t change significantly when the food is reheated.

Here are a few health benefits of resistant starch:

  • Blood sugar control: Usually, starchy carbohydrates are digested and broken down into glucose which can raise your blood sugar levels. Since resistant starch is not digested, it doesn’t have this effect, so it can be beneficial for controlling your blood sugar levels.
  • Gut health: Resistant starch travels to the large intestine where it acts as food for the good bacteria in our gut. In other words, resistant starch is a prebiotic! When the resistant starch is fermented in the large intestine, it produces beneficial, short chain fatty acids.
  • More gut health: Since resistant starch is fermented slowly in the large intestine, it may cause less gas and bloating than other fibre-rich foods.
  • Satiety: Eating foods with resistant starch can help you feel full for longer.

Here’s what you can do:

  • Pasta: Cook pasta to al dente. Once cooled, store the pasta in the refrigerator. The longer it is refrigerated, the more resistant starch is formed. Eat the pasta cold in a pasta salad like my Caprese Pasta Salad, add to a soup, or reheat the pasta and enjoy it with a sauce. Bonus tip: Cook pasta to al dente – it will have a lower glycemic index than mushy pasta and create a slower rise in your blood sugar levels.
  • Potatoes: Boil, roast or bake the potatoes. When cool, store the potatoes in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, preferably overnight. Eat the potatoes cold in a potato salad or reheat them in your favourite recipe.
  • Rice: Cook rice as you normally would. Allow the rice to cool at room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Use the rice to make Best Shrimp Fried Rice or simply enjoy the reheated rice as a side dish. The amount of resistant starch does not change much after reheating cooked and cooled rice, pasta or potatoes.

 

Diabetes-friendly Tacos

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tacos filled with meat and beans on a plate with tomatoes and red / green peppers

 

To celebrate World Diabetes Day (Nov 14 of each year), I’ve teamed up with my colleague Karen Graham who’s a dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and author of three diabetes cookbooks to share some easy and delicious diabetes-friendly recipes.

These tacos are so easy to make and fun to eat! For a change, you can make burritos by using a soft flour tortilla shell instead of a hard taco shell.

Here’s the recipe!

Bean and Meat Filling

Makes 5 cups (1.25 L) (enough for 20 tacos)

1 lb (500 g) lean ground beef

1 cup (250 mL) warm water

1 tsp (5 mL) each: cumin, oregano, paprika and garlic powder

2 tsp (10 mL) chili powder

1/2 tsp (2 mL) black pepper

28 oz (796 mL) can kidney beans or white beans, drained and rinsed

  1. In a medium pot, brown ground beef. Drain off as much fat as you can.
  2. Stir in the water and spice mix. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Add extra water if needed to keep moist.

Tacos

To make each taco, you will need:

1 taco shell

1/4 cup (60 mL) Bean and Meat Filling (see above)

1 1/2 Tbsp (22 mL) shredded cheese

Lots of vegetables

  1. Heat the taco shells in the oven at 350F (180C) for 5 minutes.
  2. Into each hot taco shell, put the meat and bean mixture, cheese and vegetables.

Enjoy!

Recipe printed with permission from Karen Graham, RD, CDE – Diabetes Meals for Good Health Cookbook