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Resistant starch, SCFAs and modern commodities: a gut issue
In addition to what I just wrote above about microwaving - I know many people think they are bad but for some it may be a low risk compared to other alternatives of preparing food/eating things that increase vitamin A.
I read somewhere today that a mix of SCFA-producing microbiome foods is more beneficial than single approaches. Makes sense, since there's so many kinds of helpful critters in the gut. PubMed makes it easy to find the ones a person might want to use. I've been doing combo-searches like "Glucuronic Acid and Polysaccharides" which lead to papers like the following:
In vitro digestion under simulated saliva, gastric and small intestinal conditions and fermentation by human gut microbiota of polysaccharides from the fruits of Lycium barbarum.
which got me searching PubMed on Lycium Barbarum to see if I want to add it to my daily slurry drink of soluble fibers and gums. And I probably do, after reading a few abstracts. It also got me thinking about a company I ordered product from when my mother was going through extensive (years) of chemotherapy for a rare form of lymphoma (she made it - in spite of the chemo). The product was Resist from Pacific Biologics (looks like Resist has been renamed). These folks really know what they're doing when it comes to Chinese and other herbs. (no affiliation) I noticed this morning that many of the herbs in their formulas have the properties I'm looking for in terms of feeding the microbiome. When the first Whole Foods Market opened in Ann Arbor in 1993, we turned team members on to Resist and not only did they put it in their in-house "med cabinet", they stocked it as well, to rave reviews. Now it looks like a practitioner of some sort is needed to order.
This other paper below has been very helpful also and is quite readable (for a change! ha)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6320572/
Prebiotics and short chain fatty acids
In the 1980s, it was postulated that some components of the diet could promote the growth of certain bacterial strains present in the intestine, which are closely associated with benefits for host health [43]. Subsequently, the term “prebiotic” was generally accepted to selectively refer to food ingredients that are non-digestible and show beneficial effects on the host by stimulating the growth and/or activity of probiotics in the colon after fermentation [44]. Under this definition, there are many different kinds of food ingredients reckoned as the prebiotics. Among these, many dietary fibers which are composed of carbohydrates (polymers of mono-sugars) are most emphasized and highlighted as prebiotics. Dietary fibers basically resist the hydrolysis by human digestive enzymes in the small intestine; however, they can be fermented by colonic microbiota bacteria. Many different kinds of carbohydrates belong to dietary fibers. These include resistant starch (starch and starch degradation products), non-starch polysaccharides (celluloses, hemicelluloses, pectins, gums, and mucilages), inulin, and oligosaccharides such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS, a subgroup of inulin with the degree of polymerization (DP) ≤10), galactooligosaccharides(GOS, DP 2–8), and xylooligosaccharides (XOS, DP 2–10) [45].
One more story from days gone by. I had a garden business in Austin Texas and the product I sold and set-up had a worm-composting tube down the middle, where worms could come for food when they weren't out doing their thing in the soil surrounding the tube. I sourced Red Wiggler worms from a friend in Kyle who was the master of all things soil. He commented one day that a person could read papers on soil-science all day long for the rest of their lives - OR - a person could use worms who had millennia of experience and probably carried thousands of species of fungi and bacteria in their gut, which they share with the microbiome of the soil. What he said comes to mind on those days where I'm plowing through papers and comments and trying to sort things out for myself and those I know and care about.
Dr. Garrett Smith seems to be dead against butyrate:
"The only one in this list I wouldn't recommend is the Jerusalem artichoke, as it is full of resistant starch (butyrate), which strongly activates retinoic acid production (that's bad)."
So, we would have created an imbalance with more resistant starch and less of other types of fermentable fibers in the typical modern diet.
I've been thinking that canned stuff may not be too bad since I don't think they are submitted to cold temperatures, but refrigerating canned beans after opening the can would increase resistant starch. I need to research on how and at what temperature resistant starch increases.
Here a paper: that corroborate canning should be better than refrigerating:
Tubers left at room temperature had less RS created than when at 4 celcius.
Interestingly, baking bread for longer at a lower temperature does not provide further reducing of RS.
Quote from somuch4food on February 4, 2019, 7:33 pmDr. Garrett Smith just posted about resistant starch and butyric acid boosting vit A and increasing cancer risk: https://nutritionrestored.com/blog-forum/topic/butyric-acid-aka-butyrate-and-other-short-chain-fatty-acids-scfa-products-of-resistant-starch-fermentation-in-the-gut-increase-retinoic-acid-and-stimulate-bowel-tumor-growth/
I was already aware of this potential problem from one of his previous post mentioning cooled potatoes were treated as poison in other cultures.
I'm glad he found evidences corroborating the folklore.
That got me thinking of how modern commodities have increased the intake of resistant starches. RS does not get digested and goes on to feed bacteria that produce SCFAs that stimulates the production of Retinoic Acid in the gut.
The best way to increase the RS content of foods is to cook then cool. I am not sure if reheating decreases RS or not.
So, modern commodities such as the refrigerator and especially the microwave have increased our intake of RS.
The fridge first allowed us to keep produce and meats fresh for longer which was a great improvement in the food supply chain. The microwave though has clearly made the RS intake skyrocket since leftovers can be quickly reheated for lunch.
I'm thinking the same applies to frozen and canned goods. Following this idea, starchy foods shouldn't ever be bought canned or frozen if they are already cooked.
Maybe this is why beans, including black beans, give me horrific VA symptoms.
If you cool a starch for several hours after cooking, some of it will become resistant starch. If you want it that way, you should eat it cold or gently warmed. If you heat it until it is hot, the starch will no longer be resistant.
I always considered resistant starch to be better-it lowers the carbs and calories. Not sure why it would encourage vitamin A.
It increases vit A by feeding bacteria that produce SCFAs one of which is butyrate which activates the production of retinoic acid in the gut.
I know resistant starch is pinned as a healthy thing on the Internet, but I'm skeptical because we cook to improve digestability and cooking reduces resistant starch a lot.
Why do you want to lower carbs and calories? I don't restrict quantities of anything, but I learn from my body. If I get hungry again not long after a meal, I know that meal didn't sit well with me and my body is fighting it. It might be too much fibers, too much vit A... It's ridiculous that we deprive ourselves when food is so abundant. Fat on the body is beneficial as long as it's not concentrated on the abdomen.
Sorry about the rant, but restricting calories was what increased the speed of my downfall. I was always a bit depressed with low motivation and just starting to eat way more helped a lot.
Quote from Judy on February 10, 2019, 6:43 pmIf you cool a starch for several hours after cooking, some of it will become resistant starch. If you want it that way, you should eat it cold or gently warmed. If you heat it until it is hot, the starch will no longer be resistant.
I always considered resistant starch to be better-it lowers the carbs and calories. Not sure why it would encourage vitamin A.
Reheating it does cause the RS levels to drop but not completely. Freshly cooked food has less resistant starch.
Levels of RS: chilled cooked food -> reheated food -< freshly cooked food
Quote from somuch4food on February 10, 2019, 7:45 pmIt increases vit A by feeding bacteria that produce SCFAs one of which is butyrate which activates the production of retinoic acid in the gut.
I know resistant starch is pinned as a healthy thing on the Internet, but I'm skeptical because we cook to improve digestability and cooking reduces resistant starch a lot.
Why do you want to lower carbs and calories? I don't restrict quantities of anything, but I learn from my body. If I get hungry again not long after a meal, I know that meal didn't sit well with me and my body is fighting it. It might be too much fibers, too much vit A... It's ridiculous that we deprive ourselves when food is so abundant. Fat on the body is beneficial as long as it's not concentrated on the abdomen.
Sorry about the rant, but restricting calories was what increased the speed of my downfall. I was always a bit depressed with low motivation and just starting to eat way more helped a lot.
I don't restrict calories but I have eaten a low-carb/sugar-free/high natural fat diet for 20 years. A low-carb diet does not restrict calories and it keeps you full longer so you don't overeat, but that is not the only benefit.
All non-fiber carbs turn into sugar; excess sugar in the blood produces AGEs. That stands for "advanced glycation end products." The acronym "AGEs" is deliberately chosen because they are a marker for aging. Doctors measure the severity of diabetes by counting AGEs in the blood.
All the effects of butyrate look positive to me. This is from Wikipedia: "
Butyrates are important as food for cells lining the mammalian colon (colonocytes). Without butyrates for energy, colon cells undergo autophagy (self digestion) and die.[1] Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which include butyrate, are produced by beneficial colonic bacteria (probiotics) that feed on, or ferment prebiotics, which are plant products that contain adequate amounts of dietary fiber. These SCFAs benefit the colonocytes (cells of the colon) by increasing energy production and cell proliferation, and may protect against colon cancer.[2]
Butyrate is a major metabolite in colonic lumen arising from bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber and has been shown to be a critical mediator of the colonic inflammatory response. In fact, butyrate is responsible for about 70% of energy from the colonocytes, being a critical SCFA in the colon homeostasis[3]. Butyrate possesses both preventive and therapeutic potential to counteract inflammation-mediated ulcerative colitis (UC) and colorectal cancer. The reason why butyrate is an energy source for normal colonocytes and induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells, is due to the Warburg effect in cancer cells, which leads to butyrate not being properly metabolized. This phenomenon leads to the accumulation of butyrate in the nucleus, acting as a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor[4]. One mechanism underlying butyrate function in suppression of colonic inflammation is inhibition of the IFN-γ/STAT1 signaling pathways at least partially through acting as a HDAC inhibitor. It has been shown that Butyrate inhibits activity of HDAC1 that is bound to the Fas gene promoter in T cells, resulting in hyperacetylation of the Fas promoter and upregulation of Fas receptor on the T cell surface. It is thus suggested that butyrate enhances apoptosis of T cells in the colonic tissue and thereby eliminates the source of inflammation (IFN-γ production).[5] Butyrate inhibits angiogenesis by inactivating Sp1 transcription factor activity and downregulating vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression.[6]" It doesn't mention anything about vit. A.
Another benefit of SCFAs is that they do not need enzymes to be digested. They quickly break down into ketones that provide quick energy. They can feed cells in the absence of glucose, as for people who have metabolic resistance. It helps those with Alzheimer's, which is often called, "diabetes of the brain," because ketones provide nourishment for cells that can no longer use glucose due to the lack of insulin. I have seen amazing results for patients with Alzheimer's, within a matter of hours, when they are fed 8-chain fats from coconut oil.
I'm new to the low-A diet and am still researching its effects. I am currently restricting my intake of coconut oil and resistant starch "just in case," until I decide if there is really a good reason to restrict it.