Naturally Resistant Starch

NRS: What Is It?

Naturally resistant starch can be defined as any type of starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. It is considered to be the third main type of dietary fiber, and it assists greatly in healthy natural digestion. It is found naturally in such foods as bananas, beans, potatoes, grains, and naturally fibrous foods. The National Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Medicine in the United States recommends an intake of roughly 30 grams a day for men and 25 grams a day for women. Almost all public health officials and scientists alike agree that there is a significant gap in our understanding as to how significant dietary fiber can be in our lives, and what should really be considered as the optimal amount of fiber for good digestive health. That being said, resistant starch is one of the most researched areas in the field of health and well being.

The benefits of naturally resistant starch are many fold. Almost all public health figures and food organizations agree that NRS is a beneficial carbohydrate. For example, the Joint Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Consultation on Human Nutrition stated, “One of the major developments in our understanding of the importance of carbohydrates for health in the past 20 years has been the discovery of naturally resistant starch.” In addition to helping maintain a healthy level of chemical balances within the body, naturally resistant starch helps maintain a healthy colon and digestive system through its laxative effects, and its encouragement of healthy bacteria to grow within the bowels, and by producing protective compounds within the colon that help the tissue to stay healthy.

There’s More

Being one of the most researched areas of health and well being, there are many studies that have been performed regarding naturally resistant starch. One of the most recent studies published in Nutrition Today suggested that humans are overlooking the potential health benefits of NRS, which is exactly what the health officials are also saying. There was a conference called “The New Fiber Story: Natural Resistant Starch” which was a collaboration between many of the top experts in the field who congregated and publicly praised the many health benefits of NRS, claiming that it can help control an individual’s weight, manage diabetes, and obviously help with the overall health of the digestive system. According to Dr. David Topping, a senior scientist with the CSIRO National Research Flagships from Australia, the benefits are primarily found in the manner in which NRS is digested. While almost all other starches are digested in the small intestine and absorbed as sugars, NRS waits until it arrives in the large intestine where it begins to ferment. Here, it begins to take on the role of a wide variety of undigested carbohydrates known as dietary fiber, one of the building blocks of healthy living.

In 2008, Prevention Magazine published in their ‘Top Medical Breakthroughs of 2008’ a research article on a Swedish study involving normal, healthy adults who were eating bread rich in naturally resistant starch at dinner. As a result they felt less hungry the next morning as compared to those individuals who had consumed processed white bread. The aim of this research was to suggest that naturally resistant starch can help stabilize the blood sugar and curb hunger pangs, therefore being capable of not only positive effects upon blood sugar, but also doubling up as an effective way of helping people curb their appetite and reduce overeating.

Research

Dr. Janine Higgins from the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center presented research at the “New Fiber Story” conference. This illustrated how individuals consuming NRS benefited by their bodies action in prioritizing such metabolism over carbohydrate metabolism. This could result in lower accumulations of body fat in human beings if consumed on a regular basis over a full lifetime. Dr. Michael Keenan from the Louisiana State University’s Division of Human Nutrition and Food demonstrated how the fermentation of NRS within the body could possibly be even more important than an individual’s caloric intake in preventing the increase of high levels of dietary fat.

According to Warshaw and Oldways, a food related think-tank group that sponsored the conference, “Americans consume just less than 5 grams of resistant starch daily, on average, while scientists suggest 15-20 grams or more may be optimum for good health. In countries where rice and pasta are considered diet staples, resistant starch intake is more than double America’s natural average, and in China it is almost three times greater.” And let us not forget the studies that have shown that people in Asian or Mediterranean countries who consume a high amount of naturally resistant starch have a generally healthier way of life than most Americans. Not only do they live longer, but also have a far lower risk of heart disease and illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, not to mention lower cholesterol levels. And also consider that America and the Western countries are the only ones in the world where the majority of the population is considered to be overweight or obese.

However, it is important to understand that foods high in naturally resistant starch should not of course be the only food items that one consumes. They should instead be incorporated into your diet as part of the overall equation for healthy living.

One of the most common ailments as a result of people introducing higher levels of fiber into their diet is bloating and uncontrollable digestive gas. In Western countries this is understandably considered a social faux pas in social situations, and is largely the reason why many people do not eat larger amounts of fibrous foods. What many non-medical individuals do not understand is that your body only reacts in this manner initially because it is reacting to what it perceives to be a foreign substance. Once your digestive system has adjusted, you will no longer experience these unpleasant side effects. You will benefit from a far healthier digestive system, and therefore a greater sense of (and actual) well being.

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