I mentioned previously that Resistant Starches may have significant health benefits. Here, I’ll talk about why resistant starch is good for the colon or Large Intestine.
- Bowel Regularity – I mentioned that resistant starches do not get broken down (metabolized) in the stomach or small intestine but, instead, get broken down in the large intestine by bacteria. This results in a mild laxative effect.
- Prebiotic – resistant starches actually enhance the healthy bacteria in your colon. This helps prevent overgrowth of ‘bad’ bacteria. Clostridium difficile is an example of a bacteria that overgrows when the healthy bacteria are in inadequate numbers.
- Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) – resistant starch protects these SCFAs. Butyrate is one of these SCFAs that is of particular interest. Butyrate is proposed to have anti-inflammatory actions and may help with some inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease. Butyrate also has some anti-cancer effects. The mechanisms are not entirely understood. It also is used as an energy source for colonic cells. There is a lot of emerging data on the effects of butyrate & resistant starches on colonic health.
- Oral Rehydration Salts – ORS solutions have been used for years to treat dehydration associated with severe diarrhea. Resistant starches contributes to these benefits.
Resistant starches do occur naturally and can be enhanced by certain cooking mechanisms. Basically, you cook foods with the potential for high amounts and then cool them. The cooling causes them to crystalize. This crystalization increases the resistance of these starches to digestion. I’ll talk later about good sources for resistant starches.
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