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Potato starch

Wurst

Wurst

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Not sure where this post belongs ....

I've read on numerous sites that potato starch can be beneficial to diabetics , i.e. 3-4 teaspoons a day can improve insulin sensitivity and even lower blood sugar significantly. Looking at all the various potato starch products they all seem extremely high in carbohydrates.

Does anyone have any experience of this or can recommend any particular products or is potato starch the same i.e high carb.
 
Raw potatoes are lower in carbs than cooked ones. So what I am trying to ascertain is if anyone has tried this or can recommend a product that uses raw potatoes versus cooked potatoes to make the starch or have I got this totally wrong ?
 
Do you have a link to this research, I eat potatoes with my main meal most days and wasn't aware that potato starch can improve insulin sensitivity.
 
Google "potato starch and diabetes" or "resistance starch and diabetes" there are a number of studies and blogs highlighting the benefits. Only one way to see if it actually works................
 
Cblake843 said:
Google "potato starch and diabetes" or "resistance starch and diabetes" there are a number of studies and blogs highlighting the benefits. Only one way to see if it actually works................
Click to expand...


Thanks I will later Cblake, as I say not heard of that before :)
 
From what I have read it does not apply to cooked potatoes , the resistance starch is altered and not effective once cooked. Also unripe bananas are said to contain high amounts of resistance starch. I'm going to give a whirl......
 
Thanks phoenix. Did you ever try it yourself?
 
There is a lot of talk - and at times outright hype - about this in the Paleo blogosphere. Some of the more measured posts I've seen about it are:

http://caloriesproper.com/?p=4121
http://caloriesproper.com/?p=4153

There's also a lot of discussion about in on the Animal Pharm blog:
http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com.au/

My experience with potato starch wasn't very pleasant because I suspect I have issues with nightshades - the effect was very similar to the first few days of being on metformin, if you get my drift, plus joint pain and depression. I swapped to plantain flour and the symptoms didn't subside. I never got beyond 1 tablespoon per day. It's now a couple of months down the track and I still have symptoms of dysbiosis. I didn't persist with it long enough to determine if my fasting BG would improve, though since stopping it, there seems to have been a rebound effect and it is even higher than it used to be.

So I think it's very much a case of your mileage may vary, especially if you've had previous problems with SIBO/IBS or dysbiosis.
 
Starch IS a carbohydrate. It doesn't matter what the source.
Where did you read this?about its being good for insulin sensitivity? I've never seen anything like that and I'd doubt it anyway.. It would take some very good science to make me believe that; it doesn't make sense. Starches are digestible carbs and I'd have to do a LOT of searching to find which types of starch molecule are present in potatoes andd in what way potato starch differs from wheat starch, maize starch, rice starch etc.
I looked at the article and it talks about starch which is modified to make it less digestible. By that time it isn't potato starch any more.
Hana
 
Hana why not look at the wiki article, there are a lot of references and if you follow some of the links then you can read some of the research.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistant_starch
This very technical review will explain the biochemistry. It isn't that new though since it was first defined in 1982.
ABSTRACT: The concept of resistant starch (RS) has evoked new interest in the bioavailability of starch and in its use as a source of dietary fiber, particularly in adults. RS is now considered to provide functional properties and find applications in a variety of foods. Types of RS, factors influencing their formation, consequence of such formation, their methods of preparation, their methods of estimation, and health benefits have been briefly discussed in this review.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2006.tb00076.x/pdf
 
Cblake843 said:
From what I have read it does not apply to cooked potatoes , the resistance starch is altered and not effective once cooked. Also unripe bananas are said to contain high amounts of resistance starch. I'm going to give a whirl......
Click to expand...


Thanks again for the reply, there's one sure thing about diabetes and that is we never stop learning.
 
hanadr said:
Starch IS a carbohydrate. It doesn't matter what the source.
Where did you read this?about its being good for insulin sensitivity? I've never seen anything like that and I'd doubt it anyway.. It would take some very good science to make me believe that; it doesn't make sense. Starches are digestible carbs and I'd have to do a LOT of searching to find which types of starch molecule are present in potatoes andd in what way potato starch differs from wheat starch, maize starch, rice starch etc.
I looked at the article and it talks about starch which is modified to make it less digestible. By that time it isn't potato starch any more.
Hana
Click to expand...

Here is one of the quotes from the second article (http://caloriesproper.com/?p=4153)

"A lot of people have expressed concern over the net carbs in raw potato starch. Cummings and Raben estimated the indigestible fraction to be 40 and 54% (w/w), respectively. I get it. For what it’s worth, I’m convinced that said net carbs won’t impact your blood glucose levels…"

I have my own doubts because, like GI/GL, a lot will depend on the individual response - testing for effects of resistant starch on healthy individuals will doubtless be have different results than tests on Type 2's for example. There's also the highly variable nature of the number of amylase genes among individuals/populations due to adaptation to eating starches (see Chris Masterjohn on Carbohydrate Intolerance: http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/2012/11/my-ahs-2012-talk-is-now-up-oxidative.html)

Nobody is going to force anyone to try the stuff - if people like experimenting, it's a fairly simple thing to try out for themselves. If you're not interested, that's fine, but making blanket statements like "starch is a carbohydrate. It doesn't matter the source" is unnecessarily reactionary, IMO.

Some other research that might be of interest: A study on the use of slow release starch to treat hypoglycaemia in Type 1's:

http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/26053/

More info on Super Starch which is becoming increasingly popular with endurance/keto athletes like Peter Attia:
http://generationucan.com/super.html

It's a huge rabbit hole of research if you want to follow it. I find the whole area of the human microbiome absolutely fascinating.
 
I couldn't find any potato starch in my local supermarkets last night, I will widen my search over the weekend. I have read also that unripe (green) bananas contain a fair amount of resistance starch, I'll be trying one or two over the upcoming weekend. I have eaten any type of banana in ~ 2 years due to my low carb regime.
 
Cblake843 said:
I couldn't find any potato starch in my local supermarkets last night, I will widen my search over the weekend. I have read also that unripe (green) bananas contain a fair amount of resistance starch, I'll be trying one or two over the upcoming weekend. I have eaten any type of banana in ~ 2 years due to my low carb regime.
Click to expand...

The potato starch recommended (not potato flour) is:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bobs-Red-Mi...words=bob's+red+mill+unmodified+potato+starch

There is also a "primer" page at this blog, including details of various other high resistant starch products/foods:
http://freetheanimal.com/2013/12/resistant-primer-newbies.html

Disclaimer: The author tends to extravagant claims (and foul language, so don't say you weren't warned), so I'd take the BG claims with a grain of salt - I would trust my meter rather than accept his claims as gospel ;)
 
I can't find the reference for it, but I recall listening to a Chris Kresser interview where he said to take a very cautious and slow approach with resistant starch - low dose and increasing gradually - otherwise the gastrointestinal side effects could be very problematic. He said he knew people going straight for a tablespoon at a time and then doubling over with intense cramps and major discomfort. So best to take it slow. Good luck if you decide to go ahead with the experiment @Cblake843
 
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