Eating these carbs won’t make you fat

THE CARBS THAT WON'T MAKE YOU FAT: Carbohydrates are sugar, starch and fibre that give our body the required energy. Yet, health-conscious people despise them and design their diet in a way that excludes carbs completely. And if the latest Keto diet is to be believed, carbs are outright evils. But is that really so? Are all carbs alike? Not so.

WHY PEOPLE DON'T EAT CARBS ON A WEIGHT LOSS PLAN: When you eat refined carbs like white bread, roti, cakes or cookies, your body absorbs them very quickly and releases insulin into your blood sugar. And when you eat a lot of refined carbs, your body stores most of the calories instead of burning them and ultimately makes you gain weight.

NEW RESEARCH: But not all carbs should be excluded when you are on a weight loss plan. A new research suggests that carbs called “resistant starch” could actually be helpful in losing weight.

RESISTANT STARCH: Resistant starch, as the name suggests resists digestion. These foods bypass the small intestine where most of the food is digested and head to the large intestine for metabolization. There they are fermented and turned into short-chain fatty acids which body utilises as a source of energy.

Resistant starch make for great prebiotics, which is the food for the intestinal bacteria and probiotics.

GOOD FOR DIABETICS: Resistant starch foods are healthy for people with Type 2 diabetes. Eating it can improve inflammation, which is often linked with Type 2 diabetes and abnormal lipid profile, says a 2015 study.

RESISTANT STARCH FOODS: Resistant starch is found in a variety of foods including, legumes, whole grains, beans, seeds, unripe banana and uncooked potatoes. Products made from the above foods are also included in the list. Example, bean flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour and potato starch.

INTERESTING FACT: Many leftovers also contain resistant starch. Like when you cook some starchy food like pasta, white rice, potato and keep in the refrigerator, the food develops resistant starch.

STUDY: In all cases, resistant starch has shown to help people lose weight. In a 2015 study published in a Nutrition Journal, four types of pancakes were made for 70 women - made from starch with whey protein, resistant starch, ordinary starch and resistant starch with whey protein.

RESULT: The women who ate pancakes with resistant starch plus protein experienced more fat burn as compared to those who ate the other three types. Adding protein to the resistant starch made women feel fuller for longer.

So, this combo proves to be a powerful one for people who want to lose weight.