RESISTANT STARCH (RS) is starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch therefore passes through to the large intestine where it acts like dietary fibre. Resistant starch has been categorized into four types:
- RS1 Physically inaccessible resistant starch, such as that found in seeds or legumes and unprocessed whole grains
- RS2 Resistant starch that occurs in its natural granular form, such as uncooked potato, green banana flour, high amylose corn and future high RS wheat
- RS3 Resistant starch that is formed when starch-containing foods are cooked and cooled such as in bread, cornflakes and cooked-and-chilled potatoes or retrograded high amylose corn
- RS4 Starches that have been chemically modified to resist digestion. This type of resistant starches can have a wide variety of structures and is not a natural product.
