Resistant starch appears to aide the body in resisting colorectal cancer

摘要

The human body cannot digest resistant starch - it therefore exits the body in approximately the same form that it entered. However, while in transit and within the bowel, resistant starch appears to carry out important functions. These include lowering the pH of the bowel and shortening transit time, and increasing the quantity of short-chain fatty acids produced. Such effects of resistant starch enhance the production of good bacteria. A review produced by the University of Colorado Cancer Center (USA) demonstrated that resistant starch can help the body fight against colorectal cancer (CRC) via mechanisms that include the destruction of precancerous cells decreasing the inflammation that may otherwise promote cancer. Janine Higgins of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, explained further that, "resistant starch is found in peas, beans and other legumes, green bananas, and also in cooked and cooled starchy products like sushi rice and pasta salad. You have to consume it at room temperate or below — as soon as you heat it, the resistant starch is gone. But consumed correctly, it appears to kill precancerous cells in the bowel." Studies have previously shown that rats fed on resistant starch appeared to show fewer and smaller lesions due to CRC. There also seemed to be an increase in expression of the number of cells producing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10; which acts to regulate the inflammatory response.