Guilt Free Carbohydrates
When we hear the word carbohydrate, we automatically think of it as being the enemy of the dieter! Carbohydrates have got a reputation for making us pack on all those extra, unwanted pounds. Therefore most of us try to avoid them as much as possible and remove them from our diets. But, now, it seems that there is one type of carbohydrate that will not cause you to put on weight, in fact, quite the opposite! This class of carbohydrate, called ‘resistant starch’ can even help you to control and maintain weight!
Good news so! These ‘resistant starch’ carbs take longer to digest than others and so they ferment and become fatty acids which your body then burns and uses as energy. Resistant starch carbs bypass the lower intestine and head straight for the large one to be metabolized. Happy days! Totally different than the usually refined carbs like bread, cookies etc. that our bodies absorb quickly and stores the calories instead of using them up. See the difference? This is a total science breakthrough and great news for anyone trying to lose a few pounds out there. It’s all here in this report from prevention.com.
Types of Resistant Starch Carbohydrates
So, now to get down to it, which carbs exactly are we talking about? Which are the ones to choose that will not cause you to put on weight and will actually result in aiding your digestion? Well, the list is long. Meaning that for you, eating carbs that won’t make you gain weight is an easy thing to do! Foods like legumes, beans, whole grains and some seeds contain resistant starch. Also, you will find it in unripe bananas and uncooked potatoes. But the best bit is that if you cook carbs such as white rice and pasta and then let them cool down you are essential transforming these carbs into resistant starch. By cooking the carbohydrate the starch alters the chemical bonds in the food and consequently sticking the food in the refrigerator to cool down, changes the bond structure again, and this process makes them resistant to being digested in the small intestine. There you go, the foods become resistant starch and remain this way even if you heat them up again!
Marvellous news! So, you don’t have to cut out delicious foods such as white rice and pasta from your diet, just prepare them in a slightly different way. This, surely, will change the way most people will prepare food from now on! I know I am going to be cooking this way in the future! This is a way better solution than having to cut out pasta!
Resistant starch, when eaten, alters the composition of your body and increases your feeling of being full and satisfied, leading you to maintain and control your weight. As proven in this study published in Nutrition Journal.
Combining Foods
But then…think of how much better you can make this work if you combine your new resistant starch foods with other digestive helpings and low-calorie foods like protein or yogurts. The results for you and your health will be outstanding. The best thing about this is that it is so easy to do. Combine you newly reheated pasta with some protein-packed chicken and you have a low calorie, filling lunch or dinner that will leave you feeling full and give you more energy.
Perhaps better put by Paul Arciero, professor in the health and exercises sciences department of Skidmore College “The potential for a nutritional lifestyle intervention to counter obesity driven by high-carbohydrate food, though we don’t know yet how significantly, is fascinating.” Exciting times ahead for any of us trying to lose a few pounds!
