Resistant starch
Resistant starch (RS) is starch, including its degradation products, that escapes from digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods, but it can also be added as part of dried raw foods, or used as an additive in manufactured foods. Some types of resistant starch (RS1, RS2 and RS3) are fermented by the large intestinal microbiota, conferring benefits to human health through the production of short-chain fatty acids, increased bacterial mass, and promotion of butyrate-producing bacteria. Resistant starch has similar physiological effects as dietary fiber, behaving as a mild laxative and possibly causing flatulence. Origin and history The concept of resistant starch arose from research in the 1970s and is currently considered to be one of three starch types: rapidly digested starch, slowly digested starch and resistant starch, each of which may affect levels of blood glucose. The European Commission-supported-research eventually led to a definition of resistant starch. Health effects Resistant starch does not release glucose within the small intestine, but rather reaches the large intestine where it is consumed or fermented by colonic bacteria (gut microbiota). On a daily basis, human intestinal microbiota encounter more carbohydrates than any other dietary component. This includes