Resistant Starch Experiment

This is something that hasn't been sighted in the Paulsson household for years. Gasp, p-p-p-potatoes!

Scary Mary

I would normally avoid potatoes for their blood sugar spiking properties and their antinutrients, but I have decided to start a little experiment alongside my low carbing paleo house deity, Mark Sisson.

A little while ago, the idea of resistant starch started making the rounds of the paleo community. Anecdotal evidence of better blood glucose tolerance, sleep, digestion and body composition popped up on various blogs (Free the Animal seemed to be one of the more vocal/ slightly obnoxious ones), but it took a while for Mark Sisson to jump on board. And for me. Low carbing has been a way of life for almost three years now, why would I want to introduce starch again? But although my low carb version of paleo suits me really well, I am always open to new ideas and ways of tweaking my diet. Especially as I sometimes wonder if perhaps long-term ketosis may not be the cure-all, especially for women. 

Anyhow, I am now experimenting for a month with cooked cold potatoes as well as green bananas (plonked into unsweetened smoothies of avocado, avocado seed, spinach, coconut cream, lemon juice, cinnamon). The theory behind resistant starch is that it passes through the digestive tract to be broken down further down the line, feeding not your blood glucose depots, but rather certain beneficial gut bacteria that would otherwise get starved on a low carb diet. 

Watch this space. Or should I say "smell this space"? A week in, I have noticed two things. Amazing sleep quality (and I mean sleeping like the dead) and, on the flip side, pretty grim fartage. Let's hope that the latter is a passing thing...