Keeping It In The Family
Hi Byte Wellness Fam,
How are you feeling?
I’m excited! We had a really interesting #PhyteWellWednesday Workshop this past week. We dug into the Red Lobster nutrition facts and learned a ton about which meals and apps are on our to-share list vs. our all-for-me list. But, guess, what there were more all-for-me high fiber options than I expected to find. Watch the recording below to see what they were. And, don’t forget to check in with the discussion question below.
Discussion Question
What is your go-to comfort food?
Titi Fiber & Titi Starch
Dietary fiber and starch are like a dynamic Aunties duo. They’re made of the same basic stuff (sisters from the same genetic pool), but they show up in our bodies differently (they have different personalities). You can have an relationship with both of them, but only if you know how to interact with them.
Fiber and Starch both come from plants. They are both polysaccharides (large chemical structures made with lots of sugar molecules). FIber’s sugars are connected like bricks on a big solid wall.
Starch’s sugars are connected like links on a long chain. Because of this difference in types of sugar linkage, our bodies respond to fiber and starch differently.
We CAN NOT digest fiber. It moves from the stomach, through the small intestines to the large intestine pretty close to its original form. But, in the large intestine (the colon) our gut bacteria (called the microbiome) feast on fermentable fiber. As they eat the fiber, they produce pro-health chemicals (like short chain fatty acids).
Meanwhile, we DO digest starch, which breaks down into lots of little sugar molecules. That’s why eating a HUGE starch load (like lots of fries or tons of bread) can deliver lots of calories spike our blood sugar (which increases our risk of preventable diseases like type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart attack).
Fiber, Starch Synergy
But, that doesn’t mean starch is all bad. We do need calories to live, just not too many. So, if we eat the right amount of starch and the right type of starch, we get the calories we need to thrive without the huge sugar load that can threaten our survival.
But, get this, fiber and starch work together for our benefit. When we pair starch with fiber, digestion is slowed, and we’re less likely to have a blood sugar spike.
So what’s the right type of starch to help us thrive? Starch that comes paired with fiber!
Starch and fiber? Where they do that at!? In whole food plants! Click here to find more sources of whole food starches (grains, beans and legumes and some veggies).
Whole food starches like baked potatoes, green peas, butternut squash, rice and oatmeal are less likely to spike blood sugar compared to processed starch found in french fries, bread (processed from wheat) and pastries.
Next time you reach for starchy “comfort food”, ask yourself whether it’s closer to a whole food or processed? If it’s processed, can you think of whole food alternative? (baked potato instead of fries?) Or, can you find a high-fiber whole food to add to the starchy snack/meal.
Happy Healthy Living,
Dr. Wuse