Resistant Starch

Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate found in foods like green bananas, cooked-and-cooled rice, and legumes that your body cannot fully digest. Instead, it travels to the large intestine where it feeds beneficial gut bacteria and may help with blood sugar control and appetite regulation.

Resistant starch escapes digestion in the small intestine and undergoes colonic fermentation by gut microbiota, producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including acetate, propionate, and butyrate. SCFAs stimulate GLP-1 and PYY secretion from enteroendocrine L-cells, enhancing satiety, improving insulin sensitivity, and increasing fat oxidation through AMPK pathway activation.

Resistant starch offers a dietary strategy to improve metabolic health without eliminating carbohydrates entirely. Accord Medical nutritional guidance includes practical ways to incorporate resistant starch into a Singaporean diet — for example, using cooled rice in salads — to support weight management goals.