Resistant starch

Resistant starch (RS) is starch, including its degradation products, that escapes (resists) digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods, but it can also be added as part of dried raw foods or used as an additive in manufactured foods. It is considered to be one of three starch types, along with rapidly digested starch and slowly digested starch. All three may affect levels of blood glucose.

Some types of resistant starch (RS1, RS2, and RS3) are fermented by the large intestinal microbiota, conferring benefits to human health through the production of short-chain fatty acids, increased bacterial mass, and promotion of butyrate-producing bacteria.

Resistant starch has physiological effects similar to dietary fiber, behaving as a mild laxative and possibly causing flatulence.