Resistant starches are often categorized into four groups, based on the source. It’s also important to note that one type of food can contain different types of resistant starches. Osteopathic doctor Christine Maren, D.O., breaks them down: “Despite the concern for carbohydrates spiking blood sugar, numerous studies on resistant starch show the opposite effect,” Maren says. “The decrease in obesity associated with consumption of resistant starch is significant enough to improve insulin sensitivity4.” Resistant starches have also been shown to help manage weight, as well as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases5. You can also prepare your food in a specific way to bring out their resistant starches. Some foods lose resistant starch with heat (think oats, green bananas, and plantains), while others increase once they’ve been cooked and cooled. For the latter, “it’s OK to reheat them to eat and still retain [the resistant starch]; it’s the cooking then cooling that allows this phenomenon,” says Smith. Supplementing your diet with raw potato starch is another simple way to increase your intake of resistant starches. Although, Maren recommends focusing primarily on adding whole foods to your diet. “Bob’s Red Mill Unmodified Potato Starch (not flour) can be added to smoothies or even stirred into sparkling water,” she says.
