Resistant starch foods are foods that does not digest normally like other foods in the stomach and small intestines. It actually ferments in the stomach giving food to the colonies of bacteria in our stomach. Resistant starch foods are mostly beans, peas, green vegetables and whole grain nuts. These foods contain amylase inhibitors that resist digestion of their starch. Resistant starch foods also contain a high percentage of fiber. The calorie content of resistant starch foods are taken into account in food labeling, which is not exactly correct to some extent as full digestion of the food does not take place.
Notwithstanding that eating resistant starch foods is an important strategy to control diabetes, it is also an applicable strategy to control cancer.
Cancer cells feed primarily on simple sugars. Resistant starch foods does not digest immediately to produce the simple sugars. Resistant starch ferments in our stomach and in the digestive tracks, in that very little of it gets absorbed into the blood, like other starches. Eating a higher amount of resistant starch foods actually provides less food to cancer cells.
However a point to note is that resistant starch foods should be slowly and deliberately introduced into our diet. We should also take other non resistant starch foods to complement our diet. Resistant starch foods complements well with probiotics and yogurts.
Food data from Dr Fuhrman's shows the percentage resistant starch in some common foods.
% Of Resistant starch in foods :
Black Beans - 26.9
Northern beans - 28
Navy beans - 25.9
Red kidney beans - 24.6
Lentils - 25.4
Split peas - 24.5
Black eyed peas - 17.7
Corn -25.2
Barley 18.2
Brown rice - 14.8
Millet - 12.6
Rolled oats - 7.2
White rice - 14.1
Whole wheat flour - 1.7
Pasta - 3.3
Potato flour - 1.7
Take care
Allen Lai
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