Despite a proportion of people not reacting well to resistant starch, its proponents keep insisting that we ALL need to persist in trying it. Getting our fiber from sources that make us feel good, they say, is not enough! They demand that we join them in their flatulent bliss.
No thank you. My bowels are happy with the quantity and quality of my usual choices.
In my case, i haven't had a course of antibiotics since the early '90s when i had major surgery. I use raw milk and create whey for pickling favorite vegetables as often as i can, as well as enjoying home-made kefir and yogurt (well-fermented, so as to convert as much of the sugars to acids as is consistent with tastiness). I know that if i get a case of loose bowels from a virus or restaurant food, a hefty dose of probiotic is helpful, and i keep a bottle of some good stuff on hand for just-in-case. I'm not afraid of dirt on my hands, and i don't freak at it being under my fingernails. AND i don't believe in using hand-sanitizers. I have pretty good faith that my gut-bugs are in decent condition.
If it were a case of taking a teaspoon of potato starch per day, i might try it and measure glucose responses, just out of curiosity (i have my share of THAT quality) -- however, a dose of 20-30 grams is needed to show benefit and that's THREE TABLESPOONS, more or less -- damned if i'm interested in working my way up to that, just to see if it benefits ME.
But the biggest brake on my curiosity is ... "fear" of outrageous gas and bloat! :-) I have enough trouble if i overdo lettuce or fruit! A number of vegetable sources seem to set off FODMAP-type problems with me, and it's just NO TEMPTATION to test myself some more! To admit to a little vanity, i'm very pleased with the flatness of my stomach compared with other women my age -- i honestly don't want to screw THAT up, either.
So, no -- despite the positive reviews at MDA, i think i'll pass when it comes to trying out RS.
A short and sweet comment from me is to echo your sentiments Tess.
ReplyDelete"No thank you".
From a not too short but sweet fellow blogger ........
All the best Jan
you ARE a sweet one! ;-)
Deleteditto here. No thanks!
ReplyDeleteEating low carb makes my gut (and everything else) feel great. No bloating, no gas and no constipation.
I do know that if I ever get constipated an extra dose of my magnesium supplements or a teaspoon of MCT oil naturally would resolve the problem.
:-) the only thing likely to "stop me up" is ... too many vegetables!
DeleteI feel that many of the claims regarding resistant starches are largely unsubstantiated, and also I have noticed more reticence recently in recommending large quantities of potato starch.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the person touted as 'science advisor' for the upcoming rs book that will revolutionize our nutritional understanding and benefit millions of people, recently tweeted the following: pic.twitter.com/tTG7SGlBaQ
Well, so much for 'science'.
ps No disrespect to those who believe in acupuncture. If it works - by whatever means (e.g., placebo) -, great. But 'gut meridians' as a 'scientific' concept is pretty much bunk as far as I'm concerned.
when "science" can be so obtuse about admitting things that it doesn't WANT to believe, i refuse to give it absolute credence when it comes to the subtle things in life. ;-) that said, i sure as hell am more inclined to believe in it than a lot of belief systems.
Deleteafter i read today's blog post of [ahem] someone who is no longer on MY list, i went to MDA to see if his post was any more illuminating. ...okay, i didn't FINISH CK's diatribe (tldr) -- he's really become annoyingly egotistical with success! i DID finish Mark's, and i WAS surprised that he seemed to feel that everyone should try to find a place for all kinds of RS in their lives. ...WHY? there may be some species of microbiota that not everyone has, but if we don't feed those specific bugs, why should we think we need them, unless we're overburdened with a particularly nasty competitor? if our guts work well, why should we change them?
...and if BG has such a healthy intestinal population, why does she feel the need to adjust her meridians? questions, questions! :-)
I'm not buying into the RS thing much either. I eat less than a cup of hashed browns at Sunday breakfast 2-3 times a month. That's all the starch I need, if even that. Starch was a HUGE issue for me in the past; ain't going back there again!
ReplyDeleteyep, "adapt yourself to RS so you can eat more starch" -- suppose we don't WANT to eat more starch in the first place? [eyes rolling...]
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