Resistant Carbohydrates

Is there such a thing as “good carbohydrates”?  According to registered dietitian, D. Milton Stokes in Prevention Magazine, resistant starch is.  Resistant starch is the dietary fiber found in carbohydrate rich foods such as potatoes, rice and slightly green bananas.
The resistant starch level of rice and potatoes increases when these foods are cooked and then cooled.  Cooking potatoes or rice and then slowly cooling them causes the starch to become crystallized.  The crystallized form resists digestion.  Sort of like a carb blocker would do, because it essentially slows the absorption of carbs and their conversion to sugar by the body. 

According to Cindy Moore, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic, a resistant starch passes through the small intestine intact.  Resistant starch, in the large intestine, ferments and turns to bytyrate, a fatty acid.  The bytyrate reduces the toxin levels and also stimulates hormones that make you feel fuller.  The latter quality is why resistant starch is helpful to weight loss.
Other sources of resistant starch are grains, corn and beans.  Resistant starch is being hailed as the latest natural fat burning breakthrough.
Studies are showing that consumption of resistant starches help to improve blood sugar control, can boost your immunity and may reduce risks of certain kinds of cancer.  The biggest benefit gaining attention is the impact resistant starches have for helping weight loss.
Recipes highlighting resistant starches are plentiful on the internet.  Products such as Hi-maize 260 can be blended in to make waffles, rolls and a host of other foods.  Hi-Maize 260  resistant starch is a natural ingredient made from corn that contains 55 to 60% insoluble dietary fiber.
With all the low carbohydrate craze, potatoes, corn and grains have been avoided as high carbohydrate fattening foods that will cause weight gain.  The newer theories on resistant starches may reverse that way of thinking.