Trying to boost your health this January? Don’t clear out your pantry just yet.
There may be a secret wellness hero lurking on your shelves, experts have revealed, just so long as you prepare it properly.
With one simple step, carbohydrates, long vilified as the root of all health-related evil, could become the key to preventing cancer – and help you to lose weight.
The best part? It doesn’t cost a thing.
Simply reheating your cooked pasta, rice and potatoes can supercharge them into a nutritional miracle drug, researchers claim.
Known as resistant starch, this naturally occurring compound has been shown, in a recent astonishing study, to reduce the risk of some cancers by more than 60 per cent.
And you can harness its benefits at home simply by eating leftovers.
Resistant starch expert Dr Fred Warren, research leader at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, says: ‘When you let starchy foods – whether bread, rice or pasta – cool down before eating them, the way we digest them changes.
‘Research has shown that they become better for us in a range of ways – from lowering blood sugar and reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes to soothing gut inflammation.
‘And more recent studies have provided pretty convincing evidence that resistant starches can even prevent cancer, particularly of the colon and digestive system.’
Simply reheating your cooked pasta could supercharge it into a nutritional miracle drug
So, what are resistance starches?
Starch is the most common carbohydrate in our diets – found in bread, grains, cereals and some beans – and is essentially made up of a chain of sugar molecules linked together.
Raw starchy foods like uncooked potatoes or rice have a highly ordered structure, making them hard to digest.
When cooked, however, this rigid chain is weakened, making it easier for the gut to break them down.
The sugar from these cooked starches absorbs into the blood stream almost as quickly as a fizzy drink, causing a spike in blood sugar.
This is why carbs have such a bad reputation, as this short rise and fall in blood sugar levels leaves you feeling hungry quicker and can lead to overeating and weight gain.
But when cooled, starchy foods regain their rigid molecular structure – making them more difficult for the body to break them down – and turning them into resistance starches.
In fact, experts say that these resistance starches are more similar to the crucial nutrient fibre, than carbohydrates.
Fibre is crucial for healthy bowel movements and is also more filling, meaning people with a fibre-rich diet eat fewer calories. The UK is also experiencing a fibre shortage crisis with roughly nine out of ten people not getting enough of the nutrient, according to research.
A study shows resistant starch in regular boiled potatoes nearly doubles once they are cooled
So despite not looking, smelling or tasting any different, leftover rice or roast potatoes contain more resistant starch than when freshly cooked, even after just one night in the fridge.
The amount of resistant starch in foods varies depending on how its manufactured, prepared and cooked – as well as if it’s reheated.
According to a US study from 2013, regular boiled potatoes contain 2.4 grams of resistant starch per 100 grams – but once cooled, this nearly doubles to 4.3 grams.
And they don’t need to be eaten cold to keep the health benefits – some research suggests that when cooled starchy foods are reheated, it actually creates more resistant starch.
Even toasting frozen bread will work.
Research suggests that resistant starch also boost the gut microbiome, the trillions of bacteria that live in the stomach and are thought to aid digestion, the immune system, and even heart health.
Unlike normal starch, which is digested easily in the small intestine, resistant starch is passed directly through to the large intestine, where it ferments, providing fuel for the trillions of bacteria that live there.
But how can cold pasta prevent cancer?
Scientists believe that resistance starch may stop cancer from developing by reducing the amount of acid in the bowels. This acid is usually used to breakdown hard-to-digest food and then is dispensed from the body.
However, people who have low-fibre diets have higher amounts of this acid in their gut because it goes unused. These higher than usual acid levels can harm the lining of the stomach and, overtime, trigger cancer.
Leftover rice, say researchers, can contain more resistant starch than when freshly cooked
Dr Warren says: ‘Not consuming enough fibre – including resistant starch – puts you at high risk of developing colon cancer because these cells lining the intestine and colon have no energy source and become stressed.
‘This is a huge problem in the UK because we don’t eat anywhere near enough fibre. But eating foods with high resistant starch content helps keep the cells lining the intestine and colon healthy and less likely to become cancerous.’
Studies have confirmed the phenomenon
A recent trial looked at the impact of resistant starch on more than 900 people with Lynch syndrome – a genetic condition that increases the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
Researchers from the universities of Newcastle and Leeds split the participants into two groups – one that took 30 grams of a resistant starch supplement daily and another that took a placebo.
After 20 years, they found that those who routinely consumed resistant starch were half as likely to develop cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract than those who did not.
It does not take two decades to build up protection, however.
The trial found that just two years of regular resistant starch consumption could reduce the risk of cancer – and can protect you for up to ten years after stopping.
Dr Warren explains there is much more left to be discovered about exactly how this compound prevents cancer and how many cancers it could protect against.
But it the meantime, it’s a safe bet to up your own dose of the wonder substance by sticking your pasta and potatoes in the fridge for a few hours before you eat them.
Or for those cutting down on simple carbs, look to beans – which are great sources of resistant starch – or brown rice.
Dr Warren adds: ‘The wider the range of foods you consume that contain resistant starch, the better. And the more you eat the better it will be for your health.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
