Excellent natural fat burning foods

Resistant starch is said to be an excellent fat burning food. As such the consumption of foods rich in resistant starch are recommended for those who would like to lose weight.

In the early days scientists assumed that starch would be completely digested to glucose as it passes through our digestive system. However that assumption was overturned when research showed that about 10% of consumed starch is not digested and instead undergoes fermentation in the large intestine. This starch is called resistant starch and it is considered to be an important class of dietary fiber.

Recent studies have also shown that replacing 5.4% of the carbohydrate content of a meal with resistant starch increased fat metabolism by 23%. It appears that resistant starch changes the order in which the body burns food. Usually the body metabolizes simpler foods such as carbohydrates and then followed by fats. But when resistant starch is present, dietary fat gets metabolized first into energy before it has a chance to be stored as body fat. This is why it is believed that resistant starch is an excellent candidate for inducing the body to increase fat metabolism and therefore an excellent fat burning food.

Foods rich in resistant starch include wholegrain cereals, seeds, nuts such as oats, rye, wheat, barley, semolina, corn, linseed, sesame, processed starchy foods like cornflakes, white bread, rice, pasta, legumes such as lentils, baked beans, unripe fruit, especially banana. Cooking and cooling can also raise the content of resistant starch. Cooking triggers starch to absorb water and swell, and as it slowly cools, portions of the starch become crystallized into the form that resists digestion. So cooling either at room temperature or in the refrigerator will raise resistant starch levels which is why cooked cold rice, cold pasta salad and cold boiled potato salad are rich in resistant starch. However don't reheat. That breaks up the crystals, causing resistant starch levels to plummet.

There is no specific target for resistant starch intake. However there seems to be an emerging consensus that one should consume anything between 20-30 grams of resistant starch per day.

The table below provides a guide to the content of resistant starch in common foods.


Food Serving Size Resistant Starch (grams)
Navy beans ½ cup 9.8g
Slightly unripe banana 1 medium 4.7g
Cold potato Medium size 3.2g
Lentils ½ cup cooked 2.5g
Cold pasta 1 cup 1.9g
Barley ½ cup cooked 1.6g
Oatmeal 1 cup cooked 0.7g
Whole meal bread 2 slices 0.5g