Resistant starch, which is found naturally in foods such as oats, could lead to weight loss and improve blood glucose control, according to a small trial
By Clare Wilson
26 February 2024
Raw oats are a natural source of resistant starch
Marc Oliver/Alamy
A supplement containing a kind of carbohydrate that takes longer to be digested, called resistant starch, has helped people lose a modest amount of weight in a small trial.
Resistant starch is naturally found in beans, wholegrains, raw oats and green bananas, and also forms when common starchy foods like potatoes, pasta and rice are left to cool down after being cooked.
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There are several different forms of resistant starch, but what they have in common is that the structure of the molecules means they can’t be easily digested and absorbed in the small intestine.
The starch therefore reaches the large intestine, further along the gut, where it is digested by bacteria, meaning it is classed as a prebiotic.
While some previous studies have suggested that this starch can help people lose weight, Huating Li at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China and her colleagues investigated its effects on our gut bacteria.