Summary: The more I look into this resistant starch thing, the more I think it is a really big discovery! It could be the one, single, most important ignored component of human health, both in conventional Big Medicine (no surprise there), but also in the Paleo, or ancestral health movement. It makes sense it you think of it... we have been concentrating on the most nutrient dense, the most pure of toxins types of foods we could find- trying to replicate a diet as it would have been eaten in our primeval past, pre-agriculture- when we were taller, stronger, far fitter, and had a 10% larger brain capacity! And all the children were above average... In other words, we have been on a quest to find those foods that best nourish us- the human part of us. But we have paid scant attention to the microbes in our gut that help to nourish us and keep us healthy and happy- and they are a larger part of our own bodies, by far, than WE ARE! To quote from the upcoming title of a book by Richard Nicholey of www.freetheanimal.com and Tim Steele of North Pole, Alaska...You’re Only 10% of Who You Think You AreOr- 90% of each is non-human! Yikes! I guess we shouldn’t have been ignoring that other 90%, and be sure to give all of them, our little buddies, some nutrient dense, paleo/microbial food as well... And so, we come to Resistant Starch.Our paleolithic ancestors ate LOTS of indigestible plant matter, pretty much all day long, to get to the parts of the plant they could digest- stems, raw tubers, leaves, unknown little plants, and of course dirt all wound up in his mouth, and eventually, his gut! The microbes that already resided in his gut in symbiosis used all of this plant material for food and drink, and more beneficial microbes were often introduced through the soil and other incidental dietary “additions”. Fast forward to today, and we, uh, are not exactly partial anymore to stems, leaves, bits of nutshells, etc.... and so, we have- potato starch!! Ta da! Bob’s potato starch is... a resistant starch! Resistant to our own stomach digesting it, that is. And so, it can pass right on through our stomach, unmolested, and not raising our blood sugar at all, making us feel really full and satisfied, however. Into our intestine or gut it ends up, and our little bacterial gut buddies say “Hurrah”, and start eating it like crazy, and then...Multiplying! More good gut buddies! Add more potato starch, and repeat cycle.So, what good does resistant starch, easily added in the form of Bob’s Potato Starch available in bags almost everywhere, including at Amazon- see PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe recommended products!- do me, if I add the recommended 4 Tablespoons per day to my daily smoothie, whipped up in my Vitamix blender? Well, it will help you lose weight! I mean FAT; weight is somewhat irrelevant... Anyway, this stuff is really filling, and takes away hunger. But at the same time it’s not digested, and won’t add to your dietary calories. And, it seems to assist your body in burning fat stores, and resist fat storage! There are so many studies that have gone on, and so many currently happening, that it seems over the top, but resistant starch is being implicated in:Lower glycemic index (blood sugar)Increases insulin sensitivityLessens need for insulin in diabeticsProtects entire digestive system, helps regularityCuts colo-rectal cancer rates by 50%Helps in eye health, particularly macular degenerationPromotes brain health in aging individualsCuts risk of breast cancer dramaticallyVery helpful in ulcerative colitisSo, why wouldn’t you buy a $4 bag of potato starch and start adding it into your daily, green, Paleo smoothie? I mean, you could go out and eat raw, wild potatoes, bark, raw grains, green bananas (another good source that I will add to some smoothies!), and stems... but, spooning out a l
