The Three Carbs That Burn The Most Fat At Breakfast

With obesity near epidemic levels, dietary fiber could be the answer. However, fiber is lacking in many people's diet, according to the Second National Health Examination Survey. Of the three types of fiber, the two that are well recognized are cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber and insoluble, which provides bulk and promotes regularity. Resistant starches, the third type of dietary fiber and newest to enter the nutrition scene, might assist your weight management efforts.

Resistant Starch Sources

Long strands of glucose molecules bonded together to form a carbohydrate, or resistant starches, escape digestion until reaching the colon. While there, bacterial colonies break down the starch. Resistant starch comes in four types. Physically trapped starch granules, R1 sources, include beans, lentils, coarse cereals, seeds and whole grains. Starchy granules resistant to digestion by the enzyme amylase, R2 sources, include uncooked potatoes, green bananas and high-amylose cornstarch. The starch molecules in carbohydrates that re-gel when cooled are R3 sources and include potato, pasta, barley, bulgur and white rice. R4 is a chemically manufactured resistant starch.

Fat Burning

In addition to making you feel full, resistant starch helps you burn dietary fat and shrink fat cell size. In a study published in “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” 10 subjects who ate 30 grams of resistant starch a day for one month, decreased their insulin resistance, allowing for more fat burning and fat mass loss. In addition, a study published in “Nutrition and Metabolism” demonstrated that replacing 5 percent of dietary carbohydrates with resistant starch resulted in significant fat burning. However, higher percentages of resistant starch decreased the rate of fat burning.

Weight Managing Breakfast Meals

Including resistant starches such as slightly under-ripe bananas, whole grains and seeds at breakfast will increase your fat-burning power. A sample breakfast meal includes 1 cup of steel-cut-oats porridge, 2 tablespoons of flaxseed, 1 cup nonfat milk and a 7-inch somewhat-green banana. Another example includes two slices of whole grain toast, 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter with 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds mixed in, 1 cup nonfat milk and a 7-inch slightly green banana. Each meal contains approximately 8 grams of resistant starch. On a 1,500-calorie diet composed of 50 percent carbohydrates, 8 grams represents 84 percent of a daily resistant starch requirement, based on findings from the study.

Health Considerations

The fermentation of resistant starch by intestinal bacteria releases gases including carbon dioxide and methane that might cause abdominal distention and bloating. In addition, the short-chain fatty acids produced during fermentation may cause diarrhea. Drink eight 8 ozs. of water daily to accommodate a dietary fiber increase.