What is starch?
Starch is one of the three major types of carbohydrates. People typically eat starch in the form of bread, pasta, cereal, rice and vegetables. What all of these foods have in common is that they’re derived from plants, that’s because most plants store and use starch as their main source of energy. When you eat starchy foods, your bodies digest the starch, breaking it down into glucose which is then used as a source of energy.
Resistant starch is better than your average starch.
So what is a resistant starch? Resistant starches are named so because they’re actually ‘resistant’ to digestion in your small intestine, which lets them pass through to your large intestine where they are instead broken down and used by your healthy gut bacteria. It’s this altered digestion from which the benefits of resistant starch stem [1], [2], [3].
Firstly as they aren’t being digested by your own body, these starches don’t increase blood sugar like normal starch does. Secondly, the healthy bacteria fed by this undigested starch produce butyrate and vitamin K2, which help to support your immune system and reduce inflammation amongst a range of other benefits [4], [5], [6], [7].
Other benefits of resistant starch include:
There are several different forms of resistant starch depending on its source. These different forms have slightly different effects on your body [11].
Side box: You can also use resistant starch as a substitute for flour in these delicious recipes! Link ebook.
Did you know? There are two main sources most resistant starch supplements get their starch from. Raw potato starch which comes from exactly where it’s named and Hi-Maize which again is sourced from its namesake corn, but is also processed with heat and moisture to increase it’s resistant starch content.
Joe wanted to bring a resistant starch to the market that worked for both him and you.
That’s why ours is better than your average resistant starch. Some resistant starch recipes contain harmful plant based inflammatory agents called lectins, and unfortunately for some people who are sensitive to these, they can experience a whole load of unpleasant symptoms from inflammation to brain fog.
Side link: Shop GetJo’s specially formulated resistant starch
Joe was one of these unlucky people. He was sick of trying different resistant starch supplements which caused as many negatives as they did benefits, which is why he set out to find a resistant starch supplement that was right for him, and that’s what led him to create GetJo and develop his specially formulated resistant starch, because Joe believes everyone should have access to supplements without drawbacks.
What Joe came up with fits this M.O. perfectly. Not only does this starch provide you with all of the benefits associated with this super supplement, but also thanks to it’s clean and simple ingredients list cuts out your risk of experiencing the drawbacks linked to other resistant starch mixes!
Joe’s resistant starch diet
One of the most neat things about this super supplement is that you don’t just have to take it as a pill or drink it with water, you can actually use it as part of lots of delicious recipes using Joe’s resistant starch diet plan. Better yet resistant starch is also compatible with most dietary requirements, in fact you can even make resistant starch keto friendly, as one scoop of GetJo resistant starch has just 42g of carbohydrate.
Here are a couple of ideas of how you can get resistant starch into your diet by using it as a substitute for flour!
Low-Lectin Roast Chicken (Serves 4-6)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of chicken legs or thighs
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp each of dried thyme, sage, and rosemary
- ¼ cup of resistant starch
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Season the chicken with lemon juice, salt and pepper, thyme, sage, and rosemary.
- Coat all pieces of chicken in resistant starch and drizzle with olive oil.
- Place the chicken in the oven and roast at 400 degrees for around 40 minutes.
Brownie Cookies (Serves 8)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8-12 minutes
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup of MCT oil or avocado oil
- 1 Tablespoon of grass-fed gelatin
- ⅔ cup of resistant starch
- ¼ cup of cocoa powder
- ¼ cup of raw honey
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder
- ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
- A pinch of finely ground sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° F.
- Pour MCT or avocado oil into a mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle gelatin over oil, then whisk to combine. Add the honey and mix well.
- Add in the resistant starch, cocoa powder, vanilla powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- If the dough is too runny, place it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Form dough into balls, and then flatten.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom.
- Let the cookies fully cool before moving.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container.
The takeaway?
Unlike typical starch, resistant starch comes with a whole host of health benefits. Unfortunately like us, not all resistant starch supplements are created equal and some can actually cause some pretty mean side effects. If you want to benefit from resistant starch make sure to first do your research and pick the right one for you!
References
[1] H. N. Englyst, S. M. Kingman, and J. H. Cummings, “Classification and measurement of nutritionally important starch fractions,” Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., vol. 46 Suppl 2, Oct. 1992, Accessed: May 18, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1330528/.
[2] R. T. Zijlstra, R. Jha, A. D. Woodward, J. Fouhse, and T. A. van Kempen, “Starch and fiber properties affect their kinetics of digestion and thereby digestive physiology in pigs,” J. Anim. Sci., vol. 90 Suppl 4, Dec. 2012, doi: 10.2527/jas.53718.
[3] P. Raigond, R. Ezekiel, and B. Raigond, “Resistant starch in food: a review,” J. Sci. Food Agric., vol. 95, no. 10, Aug. 2015, doi: 10.1002/jsfa.6966.
[4] A. Romano, A. Mackie, F. Farina, M. Aponte, F. Sarghini, and P. Masi, “Characterisation, in vitro digestibility and expected glycemic index of commercial starches as uncooked ingredients,” J. Food Sci. Technol., vol. 53, no. 12, Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1007/s13197-016-2375-9.
[6] T. V. Maier et al., “Impact of Dietary Resistant Starch on the Human Gut Microbiome, Metaproteome, and Metabolome,” MBio, vol. 8, no. 5, 2017, doi: 10.1128/mBio.01343-17.
[8] S. N. Nichenametla, L. A. Weidauer, H. E. Wey, T. M. Beare, B. L. Specker, and M. Dey, “Resistant starch type 4-enriched diet lowered blood cholesterols and improved body composition in a double blind controlled cross-over intervention,” Mol. Nutr. Food Res., vol. 58, no. 6, Jun. 2014, doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201300829.
[10] C. L. Gentile et al., “Resistant starch and protein intake enhances fat oxidation and feelings of fullness in lean and overweight/obese women,” Nutr. J., vol. 14, Oct. 2015, doi: 10.1186/s12937-015-0104-2. [11] D. F. Birt et al., “Resistant Starch: Promise for Improving Human Health,” Adv. Nutr., vol. 4, no. 6, p. 587, Nov. 2013, Accessed: May 18, 2021. [Online].