How to Replace Starch With Resistant Starch

Scientists have discovered that the starch in some food resists digestion, does not spike blood sugar and provides fiber for intestinal health. They call it resistant starch and studies show that either eating food high in resistant starch or adding the powder to food can help people lose weight and control their blood sugar levels. You can also eat food normally higher in carbohydrates, such as rice, beans and potatoes, cold to increase the content of the resistant starch, which helps your body oxidize fat before it uses the calories from the starch.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat legumes, such as split peas, lentils, peanuts and beans, which are all high in resistant starch. Intact grains like raw nuts, raw corn and seeds also contain resistant starch. Raw corn is edible and adding it to salads or salsa is a good way to increase the consumption of resistant starch. Peas are high in resistant starch and can be eaten as a vegetable side dish, in salads or as pea soup.

• 2

  Consider bananas that are not quite ripe. Bananas are high in resistant starch while they're slightly green. You might also consider other unripe fruit.

• 3

  Make pasta salads, cooked rice or potato salads. When starchy food is cold, the some of the starches present revert to resistant starch. Even white bread served cold or at room temperature contains more resistant starch than soluble starch, although whole wheat bread typically contains more nutrition than refined white bread.

• 4

  Look on the food labels for the food you buy, such as cereals, for an ingredient called Hi-Maize, which is a commercial and food-grade additive. Hi-Maize is the only product on the market as of October, 2011, that contains powdered resistant starch made from corn.