THE idea of burning more fat and boosting your metabolism without dramatically changing your diet sounds too good to be true, but the latest research out of University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre, one of the world’s leading obesity research centres, shows natural resistant starch has the potential to do just that.
And the good news is it’s not what you take out of your diet that makes the difference - it’s what you put in.
Addressing health professionals at seminars in Sydney and Melbourne recently, Dr Janine Higgins leads the research into resistant starch and is at the coal face of childhood obesity working at the Pediatric General Clinical Research Centre at The Children’s Hospital Colorado.
In recent research published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, Australian scientist Dr Higgins has shown resistant starch to be a natural fat fighter.
The research was fully funded by National Institute of Health.
“Our research has shown just by eating a meal containing resistant starch, you can burn 20 to 25% more fat and this increase is sustained throughout the day, even if only one meal contains resistant starch,” she said.
“Also, we have just shown that this effect is sustained if you keep eating resistant starch on a daily basis.”
“The resistant starch actually changes the order in which the body burns food. Usually carbohydrates are used first, but resistant starch seems to move fat to the top of the list to be burned for energy before it has a chance to be stored,” Dr Higgins said.
“This effect over time could cause an increase in lean body mass and a decrease in fat stores. This increase in lean body mass could help reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and could have positive effect on your body shape.
“Having more lean mass can provide metabolic benefits on a continuing basis as it is lean body mass that drives your metabolism. Also, burning more fat spares carbohydrate which means more energy for us to use in exercise or just day-to-day life,” she added.
Resistant starch can be found naturally in cold cooked potatoes, pasta and rice as well as baked beans and lentils.
The richest source of resistant starch is Hi-maize, an Australian ingredient made naturally from specially bred corn.
Hi-maize is colourless and flavourless so it can be added to everyday foods such as breads and cereals undetected.
“Another great bonus, especially for those who are trying to lose weight, is by storing carbohydrates (as glycogen) instead of fat you will have extra energy available instead of feeling the lethargy often associated with reducing calorie intake.
“Many diets can work in the short term, but people find them too difficult to sustain in the long term, so the weight just comes back,” Dr Higgins said.
“A major cause of this is having to make massive dietary changes. For many adults and especially for children, this is a huge hurdle to overcome.”