Read this article today on woman and home and wondered if there is any truth in it?

My Recipes
How Carbohydrates Could Help You Lose Weight

November 15, 2016
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Tofu Stir Fry
Pasta could be good for your waistline, according to new research. A study examining the dietary habits of more than 23,000 people has found that moderate pasta consumption is associated with a slimmer waistline and healthier waist to hip ratio.
Want to supercharge the benefits of your favourite carb? Cool it. It’s all to do with creating resistant starch. Whilst refined carbohydrates, found in white bread, cookies and cakes, are easily absorbed by the body – enabling their associated calories to be all-too-easily stored as fat – resistant starches (so-called thanks to their resistance to digestion) are turned into short-chain fatty acids, which are much more readily burned as energy.
Wholegrains, beans, cashew nuts, raw oats and unripe bananas are packed with resistant starch but so, believe it or not, are potatoes, white pasta and rice – as long as they’ve been cooked and cooled, that is. Incredibly, allowing cooked potatoes, rice or pasta to cool in the fridge enables resistant starch to form as the food’s molecular bonds reform. Once cooled, they can be eaten cold or reheated. Potato starch is also an excellent source of resistant starch – try using it in place of cornstarch to thicken sauces, pie fillings and soups.

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Combining a source of resistant starch with a source of protein has been found to accelerate fat burning when compared with either resistant starch or protein alone, so pop an egg or two into your potato salad, and top your leftover rice with a low-fat chicken or tofu stir fry or curry dish. This combination will not only rev up your metabolism, but also help to keep you fuller for longer.
And that’s not all. Resistant starch has also been found to act as a powerful prebiotic, enhancing gut health. It appears to reduce inflammation, enhance the absorption of certain minerals and decrease insulin resistance. Early research indicates that the wonder molecule may even help to prevent type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer. “Certain populations and cultures have been benefiting from resistant starches for a long time,” researcher Paul Arciero told TIME magazine. “In my belief, that’s what’s protected them against some of the ravages of the more modern-day high carbohydrate diet.

I wouldn’t know if it was true, Welshbob, but eating carbohydrates as above never seemed to do my waistline any good and this way of eating really works for me. Hate the thought of straying from it now!

Perhaps an expert or two could reply accurately!

This doesn’t exactly seem like a reputable site with comprehensive research in a scientific publication. Can’t even get to the last page for all the advertisements. Seems to be very gimmicky …. an easy way for people to keep doing whatever they want. A gimmick just like Olestra … that stuff they added to crisps so that you couldn’t absorb the fat in the crisps … just gave most people diarhea and gastrointestinal problems.

A way to keep eating even more unhealthy stuff.

I think the clue is in the word ‘moderate’ there used to be nothing moderate about my consumption of carbohydrates, resistant or not. Having said that, I had already decided that after my 8 weeks, when I decided to increase my carbs I would try to extremely limit any carbohydrates that were not either resistant or high in Sirtuin activators to try to minimise the future cravings, and I had already seen the information on cooked and cooled simple carbs, thus pasta salad, potato salad and sushi being possible again in moderate quantities. I haven’t actually visited the website, though, so don’t know if they are advocating more regular consumption than this.

Welshbob
Who gives a shit?
I’m not sure what your interest in this is, but given that posting this appears to be your only interaction with this forum, can I suggest that a forum for a low carb diet isn’t the most appropriate place to cut and paste vast tracts of prose purporting to support following a diet rich in pasta. The fact that exactly the same wording appears on a site with “infotainment” in the title, posted on 3 November should give other forum users a clue as to it’s veracity.
Give the diet a try if you want to – why waste other people’s time?

Welshbob, Im sure any number of diets work if people stick to them, most people dont most of the time. The BSD is just that, it is a diet that helps regulate blood sugar, who gives and damn about losing weight. I am diabetic and was never overweight until I started taking insulin and 9 other drugs daily, now I have it all under control and this diet suits me, just like slimming world has done wonders for my hairdresser, she sticks with it, the paleo is the diet my daughter follows. Neither of these are diabetic to they are happy with their particular plan. If you want to follow the woman and home diet then go ahead, I am sure it will work for you, if you can stick with it. Just don’t try to sell it to us. This diet works in reducing BG and that is that.

I see from your profile that you are diabetic, I hope you try this diet and are deffo on your way to improving that.

How rude! I posted a genuine question about something I wasn’t sure was accurate and get this abuse from you. Not needed mate! If that’s all you have to say then keep your opinions to yourself. Thought this might be a troll free forum. How wrong I was!

Sorry but you’re getting the wrong impression – I’m not pushing this as a “diet ” it was just the preposition that cooked and then cooled “bad” carbs turned into “good” carbs when cooled I was questioning. Sounded a bit unlikely to me so thought I’d ask an informed forum if it could be correct. Have been on the BSD for 3 weeks and seen great results. Looking forward – was wondering if there were any “good” carbs that could be eaten in small amounts. That’s all.

Hi Welshbob

I’m new around here and have just started my diabetes awareness programme at a local medical centre. The dietician mentioned that cooling rice to convert starch to resistant starch and it seems to hold true for pasta as well. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3LncBcDcCXKgtpFvrDZVnNQ/can-my-leftovers-be-healthier-than-the-original-meal

Hi Welshbob,

Resistant starch was featured in a past episode of ‘Trust Me I’m a Doctor’ (with MM). It does seem resistant starch is less digestible, but they are still carbs. There’s an interesting discussion on this at the link below – basically suggesting why eat chilled pasta when you could have something more nutritious instead:

http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/10/trust-me-im-a-doctor-not-on-nutrition/

I’ve heard of this too, I think it’s true, but I’m wondering who would want to eat cold pasta and potato? I guess people do in “salads” (a rather misleading use of the word I think for starch covered in mayonnaise) but it’s never appealed to me. Cardboard is probably indigestible starch too.

I’m sorry people were rude to you Welshbob, I took your post to be a genuine question but we’ve had a few spam posters putting ads for other diets and products in this forum so I guess some people are getting a bit wary/sick of that.

Welshbob, this site is about following the BSD and is provided by Michael Mosley el al, so introducing an exact opposite alternative is not appropriate. This comes in addition to another couple of posts recently which can undermine what for many of us has been an illness altering experience having tried many other ways of overcoming our diabetes.

Welshbob, get on the bus and join us in our efforts, I am sure it will work for you. I too have read those articles (my daughter passes the mags to me) and I am sure there is some scientific truth about reduction in carbs in cold food, maybe one day when we start adding a carb or two we might try it. But for now we are BSD all the way.

No reason to be rude here – but reading down the comments if you are trying for low carbs then <20g is a good start and much of that can be found in vegetables. Even carbohydrates that are low on the GI scale are still carbohydrates = glucose = spikes in insulin = more insulin to control the blood sugar and on and on. While every diet ‘works’ to a greater or lesser extent, most are completely unsustainable. Diabetics should treat ALL carbs with great suspicion as they caused the diabetes in the first place, so if you want to reduce your medication or even come off it, then remove all the carbs from your diet and eat a lot of fat and a little protein, but very small amounts of protein as that has also been found to spike insulin, so eat fat – lots of it 🙂 and water fast for 24 hours then eat a bit more fat – watch your blood sugar level plummet down. Winner winner small chicken dinner.

Not sure where the research came from for that strange recommendation, but Drs Mosley and Taylor can show good solid scientific evidence that carbs are the enemy to anyone wanting to lose weight and gain control of their type 2 diabetes. If in doubt, take a look at the threads on the forum, written by Bill1954.

I am new to this site only bought the book on Monday, I have in the past been very easily swayed to try new thing hence now at 70 and weighing way more than I’d like to advertise, and trying this blood sugar diet to try and save myself from having to start taking insulin. I need to stick to one diet to have a chance for it work, I know from past experiences that switching to what looks better on the other side only leads to failure.

That is the key point. The ability to isolate the “good carbs” appears unproven and consequently eating sufficient quantities to ingest an adequate amount of the beneficial good carbs would also result in consuming significant volumes of less good carbs. So your blood sugar may be fine but any thoughts of weight control would go out of the window.

The isolation of resistant starch, the “good carbs”, is in fact proven. You cannot get much more proven than 135 clinical studies.

But, the claim that cooled potatoes and pasta salad helps you lose weight is overblown, false, unproven and a disservice to resistant starch.

Sorry I’m not trying to denigrate the opinions of others – people can eat what they like and believe what they wish.

I was somewhat unclear, I meant the commercial isolation to deliver a diet practical for a general population. As noted in the papers not all the starch becomes “resistant” following the cook and cool process, so even if someone did eat 20 cups of cooled potato, that meal would contain a significant amount of carbs and calories and would not support weight loss.

Consuming it as a supplement within the current Western dietary mix would not give the results in the research, as confirmed in three of the six papers I read through. In all fairness I only read six of the papers but none made any claims regarding weight loss.

With a pedant hat on, a number of these papers are strictly speaking research papers and not truly clinical studies. Perhaps why the FDA has spent nearly two years unable to substantiate the results for a general population?

For me the best thing about BSD is that I can eat real food without relying on supplements. So as they say – I’m out!

I agree with those of you who questions this post. This forum is about and for us who want to follow the BSD system, a diet based on calorie restriction, limitation of carbohydrates and changing to the Mediterranean food concept. We are not religious in our faith in the BSD system, but believe the science behind and the reportedly good results for improving blood sugar control and / or weight issues make so much sense that we want to give it a go. I believe we all welcome Welshbob to join in and share experiences about the BSD system, but not about all other more or less scientifically based ideas printed in some magazine that needs to find something to print ….. 🙂

Thank you for your open-mindedness. Clinical studies have shown that resistant starch may help you feel fuller for longer, or even full the next day. Some of the studies used doses as low as 8 grams in a muffin. But, it has not been shown to help people lose weight spontaneously. I apologize for misleading you – I was not trying to. What it has been shown to do is lower insulin levels in insulin resistant people. High levels of insulin promote fat storage, so reducing insulin levels will help shift metabolism in ways that may help you lose weight.

The FDA has a process that is incredibly slow. For instance, this fall, they released new regulations to revise the Nutrition Facts Panel, which will take effect in 2018. They worked on these regulations for a full 10 years. There was a lot involved, so it was not unreasonable that it took 10 years. Government regulations are incredibly slow. The FDA is evaluating the data on resistant starch and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. There is not a weight claim in this petition at all.

I believe that people should eat foods that contain resistant starch because maintaining a healthy and well functioning gut includes feeding your microbiota. If you have taken out the majority of carbohydrates, you are starving your microbiota to your detriment. There is strong data that a healthy microbiota is important for lots and lots of health conditions. If you are already healthy, you’re good to go. If, however, you are prediabetic and you want to jump start improved insulin sensitivity, adding resistant starch as a supplement is a really good idea.

I respect the BSD way of eating. My caution is to be sure that you are getting enough fermentable fibers (inulin is another one) to feed your microbiota within the boundaries of the BSD system that you are comfortable with. Resistant starch is one of the “good carbs” but is not essential if you are already eating a wide variety of plants and other sources of fermentable dietary fibers.

Well Rhonda, with all respect, it sounds to me you are in this to promote your website and your opinions on dietary starch. Perhaps you should be discussing with MM and not with us who make an effort to change our lives and really need encouragement to stay on track. 🙂 🙂
You ought to be aware that many on this site have struggled for years and years and that if someone with your background had looked into what we have been eating for the last few years – well you could easily have been able to give us a sensible comment or two. 🙂 But, even if we say that your point about resistant starch is correct – if people have not eaten according to your findings for 10, 15, 20 years – why would it be a serious concern not to eat resistant starch for 8 more weeks while getting in control of blood sugar and weight issues… ? 🙂
If you want to make a contribution, I would respectfully suggest that you give us concrete advice how to combine the BSD systems with your research. If your view is that it could not be combined, you could make better use of your insights elsewhere… ? 🙂

Hi everyone! Thank you all for your replies – even the rude ones! I didn’t think this would be such an emotive subject! Just to get things in perspective:
1. I posted this request as a genuine attempt to get opinion and advice – hopefully some of it factual and informed.
2. I am on the blood sugar diet, and have been for 3 weeks with immediate reduction in blood sugar levels. I have now been able to slowly reduce my drugs without affecting those levels, so yes, it’s working for me.
3. It seems obvious now, after reading all these posts that trying to find “alternatives” to actual carbs, that are still carbs, is a waste of time and I will stick with the diet as it is. I was looking at this as a possible long term thing – after 6 moths or so strictly on the diet, or as an alternative sometimes when eating out, as quite often if I’m in a resaurant it’s hard to find a meal that isn’t extremely carb heavy! I usually stick to some meat or fish and a salad. Trouble is, in this country a salad often consists of a letuce leaf and a slice of tomato!
Thanks again, I think I will now close this thread.

Welshbob, welcome to being fully on board. You will find you lose your taste for those carbs and eating out is not easy on any diet, you just have to be firm. I don’t think people mean’t to be rude (me included) it was just a bit like telling someone they have an ugly baby, we know things are not perfect but this is the baby we have and we are sticking with it. Hope you manage to do the same.

P.S. I am in week 21 so just going into my 6th month, it gets easier and I cannot imagine eating a simple carb, become a bit orthorexic (afraid of certain foods) and could not bear the thought of them.

Welshbob, don’t close the thread yet. You have a valid point and I would also read something like that an hope it’s true! It think being in the beginning of this journey could almost be compared to an alcoholic coming off drink.
I still haven’t got my head around the fact that I will never be eating “normal” carbs again. So like an alcoholic that can’t have a drink, we must re-learn years of thinking breakfast is cereal, toast, lunch is a sandwich and dinner is a huge bowl of pasta. It is going to take more than a few weeks to re-train me, that’s for sure!
The forum is great, and the more I read the more secure I feel. If I try telling my friends what I’m up to, I get the usual – Your body will go into stavation mode- lecture and they think I’m doing something dangerous 🙂

According to BSD, the objective is “The main thing is to lose enough body weight to get your blood sugar levels back under control.” I thought you were interested in this objective when you are interested in this objective through one approach. People who are insulin resistant and add resistant starch as a supplement improve their blood sugar levels much faster than using foods alone. I am not encouraging you to break your diet – I was trying to explain why potatoes and pasta salad do not work and to give you an additional option to add to your diet that I know beyond the shadow of a doubt works. Good luck to you.

I wonder which resistant starch producer funded Wanda’s research? Was it Natural Evolution or Bob’s Red Mill, both of which she is touting. No wonder she panicked when people seemed to think they could substitute cold potatoes or pasta for the flour she was selling!

Iwanttobeslim, I think that’s a bit strong – it’s not Rhonda’s research. There does appear to be some genuine research behind the claims, however integrating with BSD does appear problematic. Whether it may be a consideration for maintenance may be a question for consideration.

Conflating the “20 cups of potato” argument with the potential clinical effect of resistant starch was probably ill-advised as it did trigger some of the negative responses. These are open forums and Rhonda does not appear to be pushing a particular product so, as these are public forums, we should accept that views will differ. Remember play the ball not the man (or woman)!

If you go to the second website she recommends and then to the link to Top 27 science based benefits to resistant starch you will see that this is research to which she has put her name, and she recommends the products she is promoting. I am sorry, but we all know that research generally comes out in favour of those who fund it, and is then used to sell said products. Of course you are free to follow her totally (maybe) objective advice.

As I wrote earlier, this isn’t for me, but a number of the more clinical articles cited on the website were published in established, peer-reviewed journals, and do show suggest positive insulin response to resistant starch. What isn’t clear is how, even as a supplement, it would interact in a standard or even a Mediterranean diet. A number of the cited articles are basic scientific research rather than what we in Europe would formally call clinical studies as the cohorts are too small and the cohort selection criteria aren’t evident.

Still, keep positive!

Thanks JulesMaigret. Perhaps not everyone is completely grumpy following the BSD.

The animal studies first showing improvements in insulin sensitivity were funded in Australia – by the University of Sydney and by CSIRO – the research arm of the Australian government. For instance – Janine Higgins et al, The Journal of Nutrition, 1996, Volume 126, page 596-602. The real hero of this story is Dr. M. Denise Robertson at the University of Surrey in England. She first showed the benefit in people and has invested in this research for more than a decade. She has been primarily funded by Diabetes UK and has published 8 clinical studies in healthy people, insulin resistant people, and in type 2 diabetics. She has shown improved insulin sensitivity as measured by the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp (the gold standard method for measuring insulin sensitivity), increased glucose uptake into forearm muscle tissue, changes in fatty acid gene expression in the adipose tissue as well as improved insulin release from the pancreas. She is trying to figure out how this works and for whom. In 2014, she published “Could resistant starch be the redeemer of dietary carbohydrate?” in Practical Diabetes (2014; Vol 31, issue 9, page 375-375a).

At the same time, there is a HUGE inquiry into the importance of the intestinal microbiota in numerous health conditions. Justin Sonnenburg from Stanford University is doing great work in this area. You might read “Diet-microbiota interactions as moderators of human metabolism” in Nature 2016; Volume 535, Issue 7610, page 56-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature18846. I have no idea who funds Sonnenburg, but he’s brilliant and does a good job of explaining the complicated mechanisms and details.

In short, the data is suggesting that metabolism is controlled out of your gut. All of the data is pointing to highly refined, processed carbohydrates replacing slowly digested carbohydrates that include a wide variety of dietary fibers as the problem. Reducing consumption of highly refined, processed carbohydrates is half of the solution – the other half is consuming dietary fibers to restore the balance in your microbiome. Resistant starch is just the first nutrient that has convincing data to show it.

No, Bob’s Red Mill does not fund research – neither does Natural Evolution green banana flour. This is much bigger than that – the University of Guelph funded the Dainty trial, the US government is funding most of the research in the US but Ingredion (a company selling resistant corn starch) funded two studies, the Australian government continues to fund it and Diabetes UK continues to fund it.

You are right – I should have been more careful before I wrote about 20 cups of potatoes containing enough resistant starch. It is hard to know what the best story is going to be as I try to explain this stuff. I do not have anything to gain but I love this field. It is fascinating and the culmination of research across a lot of different areas. It is simply the coolest development I’ve ever seen in nutrition from many different angles. By all means, do not listen to me – look up the data and see for yourself.

Dear Rhonda,

I believe you have a genuin interest and a lot of insight into dietary starch. I am sorry and apologize if I have wronged you.

I am on the Fast 800, now in week 4, and am doing and feeling great. Could you, based on your knowledge and insight tell me how to adapt the Fast 800 and mediterranean food concept to include the benefits you point out? ?

Congratulations on your progress – it sounds like you are doing great on the Fast 800. If you want, add some resistant starch any way that you choose. Green bananas are a great choice – low calorie and probably the best quantity of resistant starch in foods. A banana with green tips will have 4-5 grams of resistant starch, but a yellow banana with brown spots will have 1 gram of resistant starch because the starch has been converted to sugar. With the calorie restrictions you are on, supplements may be your only choice. Add a little to start – too much too fast will give you gas because it is fermented. As your microbiota shift toward healthier bacteria, the gas may get reduced or stop entirely. If you can get 10 or 15 grams of resistant starch/day, it will most likely make a difference in your insulin sensitivity and keep your gut healthy.

If you prefer not to supplement, continue to avoid processed and refined carbs. In addition to green bananas, beans contain some resistant starch. The fibers in plants will eventually shift your microbiota toward a healthy metabolism – it just will take longer, but is definitely the healthiest way of eating.

Thank you for your apology – I appreciate the sentiment.

Still intent on selling the old green banana flour! Are you on commission Rhonda? Or do you just enjoy demonstrating your superior “expertise”? It is really not entirely appropriate that you should be offering what amounts to medical advice on a website that exists for dieters to compare notes, not for high pressure selling.

I don’t think that’s fair. She answered a direct question, and noted that our standard BSD diet with plenty of vegetables would get to the same place just slower. Since the BSD 8 weeks diet is intended to be done over quite a short space of time that was a perfectly valid reason to suggest supplementation. I am regarding the diet as a way of life change and so will probably not order any supplements, but will simply carry on eating the way I am now in the main, but I was interested to hear that beans and green tipped bananas were good sources. In the spirit of my username I have therefore added the knowledge to my mental library with other non-BSD related diet advice like Sirt and Whole Approach.

This thread has developed into a balanced discussion on the potential use of resistant starch to increase insulin sensitivity, which may or may not have a role in maintenance. None of Rhonda’s posts could be remotely characterised as medical advice or high pressure selling. Like BSD, the starch research is not complete but it may work for some people. I’m not convinced that it has a role in BSD 800 but the basic research appears genuine. If you have contrary evidence, please put it forward and contribute positively. I’m guessing from the vitriolic nature of your response that you’ve had a negative experience with resistant starch, I’m sure that we’d love to know the details just to get a different perspective.

One of the strengths of this forum is that posters are treated with respect. If the topic here annoys you, I would suggest that you just ignore it – it’s not worth getting so wound up over.

You might want to read this paper – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18155991. It gives the resistant starch content of foods that have actually been tested. For instance, raw, uncooked oats also have some resistant starch. If you try to get the paper directly from the publisher, they will have to pay for it. However, I found the paper online for free here – http://www.valemaisalimentos.com.br/material/2.pdf

Just wondered – and I might be completely wrong – whether Inulin rich foods might give the same benefits as resistant starch but be more BSD friendly carb and calorie wise.

Foods like asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions and garlic are all inulin rich and can easily fit into the Fast 800 and maintenance.

There is a good article on the global healing centre on – what are the health benefits of inulin. Apologies that I can’t post the link but I haven’t worked out how to do this yet on my tablet.

I do hope you don’t mind me posting this info on this thread – but it struck me that the benefits seemed remarkably similar.

I am very interested in the subject of gut health and am increasing Inulin rich food as well as trying out an Inulin supplement. I make my own Kefir also to help improve gut health.

Nobody knows if inulin has insulin sensitivity benefits. It might, but the studies have not been done – primarily because inulin causes gas at 10-12 grams/day. It is soluble and is fermented very quickly. Some people are sensitive to it and can only tolerate 4 or 5 grams of it, depending on their microbiota and intestinal health. Resistant starch is insoluble and is fermented very slowly. People can tolerate 40 or 50 grams of resistant starch/day before they start to see a lot of gas.

Inulin has excellent data showing that it is fermented and improves regularity and mineral absorption – there are >200 clinical studies but most of them show that it increases Bifidobacteria. Unfortunately, there is no health benefit for increasing Bifidobacteria that can be clearly shown. The mechanisms are definitely similar, as they both are fermented and promote gut wellness. Animal studies show that they are likely synergistic at the very least.

Does this answer your question?

Thank you for your reply – yes it does answer my question. Thank you also for the additional info – I hadn’t realised that inulin improves mineral absorbtion – which can be quite helpful as you get older.

Both resistant starch and inulin were mentioned as being important in the BBC Programme – How to Stay Young with Angela Rippon and Dr Chris Van Tulleken. They mentioned that chickpeas and lentils contain resistant starch and they are included in some of the BSD recipes.

Angela Rippon – who is quite slender and athletic was found to have quite a lot of visceral fat and I think what made me particularly interested in inulin was that Professor Jimmy Bell of Imperial College London advised her to take Inulin to break down the visceral fat. Of course I did wonder why the BSD wasn’t suggested as it is a very effective and fast way to break down the fat.

The other reason I was quite interested in Inulin rich foods (apart from the fact that I love asparagus, leeks, onions and garlic) were that they were generally much lower carb foods and didn’t spike my blood sugars like lentils, beans and chickpeas always did (of course it might have been that my portion sizes were too large). I haven’t tried them since my diabetes went into remission and I stopped using insulin – but maybe they would be ok now.

The programe also mentions the importance of nuts which are also part of the BSD. So on balance the BSD is quite a healthy way of eating and must improve gut health as all the processed foods and sugars that cause the problems are eliminated long term.

Just a quick note, to say that if excess gas is a problem, taking charcoal capsules will certainly help. I take pure inulin with a couple of charcoal caps to deal with any gaseous issue.

Thank you for that SunnyB
I have just started taking 2 teaspoons of Inulin and in two days it has dramatically improved ‘transit time. So much so that I am totally back to normal. The charcoal tablets are definitely needed though – where do you get yours from?

I get my capsules from either Holland & Barret or online. They are common enough, so you shouldn’t have any problems finding them. I usually shop around to see where I can get the best value. I’ve found the inulin definitely helps too, but like you, need the charcoal.

Thank you SunnyB