Quick Bites Nutrition • Issue 11
Welcome to the 11th Issue of Quick Bites, my New Nutrition Newsletter! Today I will give you a couple tools to make healthier food choices. Let’s dig in! - Trilety
Resistant Starches
Glycemic Index
Violence and Nutrition
Whatcha Eatin? Overnight Oats!
If you make it to the end of this longer than usual newsletter, you'll be treated to this!
1. Resistant Starch!
Recently, a longtime friend and Quick Bites reader asked me about “resistant starches,” and their effect on insulin and blood sugar. I’d never heard of resistant starches! So I did some digging. . . . Resistant starch is basically a carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine and ferments in the large intestine, or as this 2012 article from Today’s Dietician explains, “Naturally occurring resistant starches are a group of low-viscous fibers that are slowly fermented in the large intestine.”
It’s a fiber! I am a huge fan of fiber and its magical properties.
Resistant starches got a bit faddish, with people touting them as panaceas to both weight gain and high blood sugar. However, a common theme I’m realizing in my nutrition education is that there is no quick fix, beyond a balanced diet and physical activity.
The amount of resistant starch (RS) in foods isn’t stable and can be altered by factors such as method of cooking/preparation, temperature and duration of storage, and serving temperature.
For instance, the amount of RS in a banana is different based on whether or not the banana is eaten raw, cooked, cooked and cooled, or cooked/cooled/reheated! See chart below.
Similarly, raw oats have a higher RS content than cooked oats. However, some foods, such as potatoes and rice, have a higher RS content when they’ve been cooked and cooled. Reheating shouldn’t alter the RS content too much, and it’s a good reason to eat a chilled potato salad (maybe with a vinaigrette instead of a mayo based dressing!)
So what’s my take as a budding nutritionist after researching Resistant Starches?
Increasing the variety of your diet by adding resistant starches is a good way to promote satiety and increase your fiber intake, but it is just one aspect of a larger plan to eat an adequate, balanced and varied diet full of nutrient dense foods!
To dig deeper into the types of RS, check out the article “Resistant Starch Content in Foods Commonly Consumed in the United States: A Narrative Review.”
2. Glycemic Index
My research into RS reminded me of a Wow moment I had regarding the Glycemic Index. The glycemic index is a good tool for people with, or at risk for, Type 2 diabetes as it’s “a method of classifying foods according to their potential for raising blood glucose.”
I used to think of the glycemic index as a quick and effective way to choose foods, but it’s actually slightly controversial and nuanced.
For example, per my textbook,
“Those opposing the use of the glycemic index argue that it is not sufficiently supported by scientific research. The glycemic index has been determined for relatively few foods, and when the glycemic index has been established, it is based on an average of multiple tests with wide variations in their results.”
Similar to RS, a ripe banana can have a different ranking on the Glycemic Index depending on whether it is a ripe or unripe, or even mashed, banana.
Further, the GI is affected when foods are combined, for example peanut butter on a peanut butter sandwich will lower the glycemic index of the white bread when eaten in combination!
The article “Relevance of the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load for Body Weight, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease,” explains it best:
“. . . .making dietary recommendations based on GI may be misleading, especially since low GI does not always mean high nutritional value, and high GI foods, such as potato, may have other healthful qualities including low energy density and a high satiety rating. Thus, focusing on overall dietary quality and promoting the healthful aspects of the diet (e.g., dietary fiber and fruit and vegetable intake) may be a better approach to help reduce chronic disease risk.”
Most importantly:
“Paying attention to the glycemic index may be unnecessary because current guidelines already suggest many low and moderate glycemic index choices: whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, and milk and milk products.”
3. Nutritional Violence
Several weeks ago, I attended a live virtual lecture titled "Moving from Nutrition Equity to Power: Viewing Diet, Food Insecurity, and Food Access through the lens of Structural Violence, Liberation, and Peace," given by Dr. Angela Odoms-Young.
It was amazing! I could write for several hours about everything I learned, but instead I will present a few bullet points and encourage you to contact me for more information!
We should be looking at issues of health less as downstream and more as upstream, such that we aren't focused solely on the choices of individuals but on they system in which individuals are making said choices.
Inequities of the institutional and social inequities, not individual inequities
Health interventions usually take place at the downstream level whereas we should be intervening and understanding the upstream level
Anything that disproportionately impacts communities that results in significant injury, psychological harm, or deprivation is considered violence against that community - it is structural violence vs direct violence
"Structural violence highlights the negative consequences and uneven distribution of power and resources," which are largely unavoidable
The concept that extraction from communities is also a form of violence - ie issues of food access and food insecurity
When talking about nutritional or structural violence in communities of color, the narrative is usually about "ignorance" or "inferiority" rather than about the "cultural assets" of that community.
If you are intrigued and want to know more about the content of Dr. Odoms-Young's lecture, please reach out!
4.Whatcha Eatin'? Overnight Oats!
So now that we know raw oats are high in resistant starch, let's dig into a breakfast recipe! The full version of this recipe can be found here at the Cookie and Kate website.
Pro Tip - Elisabeth substitutes eggnog for milk during the holidays!
Overnight Oats
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 T chia seeds
1 T peanut or almond butter
1/2 cup milk or non-dairy milk for thick consistency, and up to 2/3 cup for thinner consistency
1/2 cup fruit, fresh or frozen
drizzle of maple syrup or honey
In a jar, bowl, or Talenti gelato container (this is an Elisabeth trick) combine the oats, chia seeds, and nut butter. Add a splash of milk to mix, then add the rest of the milk to combine. Add your fruit to the top, unless you’re adding apples or bananas then wait until just before serving. Set it in your fridge overnight, and then drizzle with honey or maple syrup and enjoy!!
Thanks so much for reading, and send in your recipes!
~ Trilety, the Aspiring Nutritionist