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Rs9.0
Resistant Starch Research
Likely helpsHigh safety
54 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Likely helps
Resistant Starch appears to help in 17 of 19 studies with measurable effects — the evidence leans clearly favourable.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 2005–2026 with a typical study size of 69 participants.
Based on 54 studies · 16 meta-analyses · 25 RCTs · 9,254 total participants
Confidence
High
What the studies found
17helped2unclear· 35 more without graded effect data
By outcome
Glucose & metabolicImproves insulin sensitivity via SCFA production · 4-8 weeks
Likely helps46 studies
Digestive healthPrebiotic fermentation produces butyrate and supports gut health · 2-4 weeks
Likely helps19 studies
Weight management
Likely helps12 studies
Therapeutic & clinical
Likely helps11 studies
InflammationIncreased butyrate production and beneficial bacteria · 2-4 weeks
Probably helps5 studies
Cholesterol & lipids
Likely helps3 studies
Liver health
Too few graded studies1 study
Safety profile
Too few graded studies1 study
By the numbers
Pulled from 38 studies with measurable effects
Likely real effects
71%
across studies
People studied
9,254
typical study: 69 people
Strongest designs
41
16 pooled, 25 randomised
Showed benefit
89%
17/19 studies
How long studies ran
Under a week
1
1–4 weeks
2
1–3 months
3
Populations Studied
General population3
Mixed populations2
Healthy adults2
Adults2
Active research area
34 studies in the last 5 years · Latest meta-analysis: 2024
200520152026
1Fasting glucose reductionMeta-AnalysisCited 24×n=1,228 · large study2023
Resistant starch supplementation significantly reduced fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR in pooled analysis.
Wang Y et al. · Nutrition & Diabetes (2023)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Significant reductions in fasting glucose (WMD: -3.32 mg/dL) and fasting insulin across pooled trials
Improved HOMA-IR indicating better insulin sensitivity, particularly in type 2 diabetes populations
Benefits most pronounced with RS2 (high-amylose starch) at doses of 20-40g daily for 4+ weeks
2SCFA productionSystematic ReviewCited 29×n=2,263 · very large study2022
Available evidence suggests that RS supplementation is tolerated in both healthy subjects and in those with an underlying medical condition.
Sobh M et al. · The American journal of clinical nutrition (2022)
Twenty-seven (69%) studies evaluated the impact of RS supplementation in healthy subjects whereas 12 (31%) studies included individuals with an underlying medical condition (e.g., obesity, prediabetes).
Twenty-one (78%) studies reporting SCFAs used type 2 RS with a dose of 20-40 g/d for 1-4 wk.
In 16 of 23 studies (70%), SCFA production was increased, in 7 studies there was no change in SCFA concentration before and after RS supplementation, and in 1 study SCFA concentration decreased.
3C-reactive proteinMeta-AnalysisCited 11×n=739 · large study2022
Subgroup analysis shown that CRP level significant reduced in subjects from the east (SMD = -1.501; 95%CI: -2.662, -0.340; P = 0.011) or suffering from diseases (SMD: -1.057; 95%CI: -1.999, -0.115; P = 0.028).Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2021.2019284.
Wei Y et al. · Nutrition and cancer (2022)
No clear effect
← WorseNo effectBetter →
We used from the effect size, as estimated by the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) to perform the random method meta-analysis, with P value ≦0.05 as statistically significant.
The 16 included trials with 17 effect sizes included a total of 739 participants in this paper.
No significant effects on C-reactive protein (CRP) (SMD = -0.583; 95%CI: -1.270, 0.104; ), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (SMD = 0.091; 95%CI: -0.156, 0.338; ), and malondialdehyde (MDA) (SMD = -0.320; 95%CI: -0.907, 0.266; ).
5Cardiometabolic outcomesMeta-AnalysisCited 37×n=670 · large study2019
Short-term RS2 supplementation in humans is of limited cardiometabolic benefit.
Snelson M et al. · Nutrients (2019)
However, these outcomes were heavily influenced by positive results from a small number of individual studies which contradicted the conclusions of the majority of trials.
RS2 had no effects on any other metabolic outcomes.
All studies ranged from 1-12 weeks in duration and contained small sample sizes (10-60 participants), and most had an unclear risk of bias.
Jia L et al. · International journal of medical sciences (2021)
Results: After screening 65 records, five RCTs (n = 179) were included.
Analyses of blood levels of uric acid, p-cresyl sulfate, indoxyl sulfate, high sensitive C-reaction protein, albumin and phosphorus yielded no significant difference.
7Gut microbiome alterationsMeta-AnalysisCited 16×n=248 · medium study2023
The altered gut microbiome may contribute to improve the blood glucose level and insulin resistance, which may be a potential treatment route for diabetes, obesity and other metabolic diseases.
Chen R et al. · Food & function (2023)
In this article, we performed a meta-analysis of a total of 955 samples of 248 individuals from the seven studies included to compare the gut microbiota of the baseline and the end-point of RS intake.
Different types of resistant starch and different populations led to varied responses on the gut microbiome.
The altered gut microbiome may contribute to improve the blood glucose level and insulin resistance, which may be a potential treatment route for diabetes, obesity and other metabolic diseases.
8Serum indoxyl sulfate reductionMeta-AnalysisCited 10×n=301 · medium study2022
The intake of RS reduced the serum IS, serum phosphorus, IL-6, and uric acid levels significantly in dialysis patients, while hs-CRP, serum creatinine, BUN, serum paracresol sulfate, and blood lipid showed no significant changes.
Du X et al. · Journal of diabetes research (2022)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
RS intake significantly reduced serum indolephenol sulfate (IS), blood phosphorus, IL-6, and uric acid levels in dialysis patients.
The mean difference (MD) of serum IS (P = 0.0002) in the dialysis subgroup was -12.57 μmol/L (95% CI: -19.28, -5.86 μmol/L).
The MD of blood phosphorus (P = 0.03) was -0.39 mg/dl (95% CI: -0.78, -0.01 mg/dl).
Additionally, more studies are needed to prove whether ingesting high-fiber carbohydrate-containing products per se can result in blunted glycemic and insulinemic responses and which DF type and amount are more effective.
Tsitsou S et al. · Nutrients (2023)
Data on insoluble DF and glucose metabolism are scarce.
The same mixed results for glycemia can be seen in healthy volunteers with overweight/obesity, while resistant starch seems to improve insulinemic responses.
Finally, more studies need to examine the acute effects of DF in starchy foods on glucose metabolism and insulin secretion in individuals facing glucose abnormalities.
10Bowel mucosal damage reductionMeta-AnalysisCited 23×n=164 · medium study2020
Our review demonstrates that resistant starch is associated with reduced histology damage in animal studies, and improvements in clinical remission in IBD patients.
Montroy J et al. · BMC gastroenterology (2020)
Huge benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Preclinically, resistant starch was associated with a significant reduction in bowel mucosal damage compared to placebo (standardized mean difference - 1.83, 95% CI - 2.45 to - 1.20).
Our review demonstrates that resistant starch is associated with reduced histology damage in animal studies, and improvements in clinical remission in IBD patients.
These results need to be tempered by the risk of bias of included studies.
11HOMA-S% improvementMeta-AnalysisCited 51×n=428 · medium study2019
This meta-analysis has provided evidence that RS supplementation can improve fasting glucose, fasting insulin, insulin resistance and sensitivity, especially for diabetic with overweight or obesity.
Wang Y et al. · Nutrition & diabetes (2019)
Huge benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
RS supplementation increased HOMA-S% (SMD = 1.19; 95% CI: 0.59-1.78) and reduced HOMA-B (SMD =-1.2; 95% CI: -1.64 to -0.77), LDL-c concentration (SMD =-0.35; 95% CI: -0.61 to -0.09), and HbA1c (SMD = -0.43; 95% CI: -0.74 to -0.13) in overall analysis.
This meta-analysis has provided evidence that RS supplementation can improve fasting glucose, fasting insulin, insulin resistance and sensitivity, especially for diabetic with overweight or obesity.
However, owing to potential sophistication, individual difference and composition of intestinal microbiota, this result should be carefully taken into account.
To decrease the rate of appetite more effectively, we suggest other researchers to identify RS dose and type.
Amini S et al. · Clinical nutrition ESPEN (2021)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Meta-analysis showed a lower appetite in RS group compared to the controls (weighted mean difference [WMD] = -1.375 mm min, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: -1.673, -1.076).
Since high heterogeneity was observed among the included studies (I2 = 94.5%, P < 0.001), subgroup analysis was carried out by RS dose, RS type, duration of supplementation, and time of AUC measuring.
In studies that used RS dose of ≥25 gr, heterogeneity disappeared (P = 0.560, I2 = 0%).
To conclude, our study found that resistant starch elicited a beneficial effect on the function of large bowel in healthy adults.[Formula: see text].
Shen D et al. · International journal of food sciences and nutrition (2017)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Animal experimental studies have found that resistant starch can significantly improve bowel function, but the outcomes are mixed while conducting human studies.
The standardized mean difference (SMD) or weighted mean difference (WMD) was calculated using a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model.
The pooled findings revealed that resistant starch significantly increased fecal wet weight (WMD 35.51 g/d, 95% CI 1.21, 69.82) and butyrate concentration (SMD 0.61, 95% CI 0.32, 0.89).
Based on these results, there is fair evidence that prebiotics and substances with prebiotic properties may improve metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers related to T2DM in women aged 18 years at least.
Colantonio AG et al. · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2020)
Based on these results, there is fair evidence that prebiotics and substances with prebiotic properties may improve metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers related to T2DM in women aged 18 years at least.
Interventions with resistant starch, resistant dextrin, and oligofructose-enriched inulin exhibited the strongest evidence for improvements due to the quantity of publications and quality grades.
Other prebiotics and substances with prebiotic properties show promise but the number of studies is few.
RS supplementation can ameliorate IR in T2DM, especially for the patients of T2DM with obesity, but not in simple obesity.
Gao C et al. · Lipids in health and disease (2019)
The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the amelioration of BMI, HOMA-%S and HOMA-%B in T2DM patients between RS and the non-RS supplementation.
RS supplementation can ameliorate IR in T2DM, especially for the patients of T2DM with obesity, but not in simple obesity.
The meta-analysis of these data showed that RS supplementation has an effect on lowering TC and LDL-C (TC: mean difference, -7.33mg/dL [95% confidence interval -12.15 to -2.52mg/dL]; LDL-C: mean di...
Yuan HC et al. · Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) (2018)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
The meta-analysis of these data showed that RS supplementation has an effect on lowering TC and LDL-C (TC: mean difference, -7.33mg/dL [95% confidence interval -12.15 to -2.52mg/dL]; LDL-C: mean difference: -3.40mg/dL [95% confidence interval, -6.74 to -0.07mg/dL]).
Future research should focus on the relationship between RS type and cholesterol-lowering effects, and the effects on subjects of different health status or those with different baseline levels of serum lipids.
Moreover, the mechanism for the cholesterol-lowering effects of RS should be further explored.
18Fasting plasma glucoseMeta-AnalysisCited 36×n=14 · very small study2020
This meta-analysis showed beneficial effects of RS on improving FPG, insulin, HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and TNF-α levels in patients with MetS and related disorders, but it did not affect HOMA-IR, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, CRP and IL-6 levels.
Halajzadeh J et al. · Critical reviews in food science and nutrition (2020)
Noticeable benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Data were pooled using a random-effects model and weighted mean difference (WMD) was considered as the overall effect size.
Administration of RS resulted in significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (14 studies) (WMD: -4.28; 95% CI: -7.01, -1.55), insulin (12 studies) (WMD: -1.95; 95% CI: -3.22, -0.68), and HbA1C (8 studies) (WMD: -0.60; 95% CI: -0.95, -0.24).
When pooling data from 13 studies, a significant reduction in total cholesterol levels (WMD: -8.19; 95% CI: -15.38, -1.00) and LDL-cholesterol (WMD: -8.57; 95% CI: -13.48, -3.66) were found as well.
19C-reactive protein concentrationMeta-AnalysisCited 35×n=13 · very small study2020
The current meta-analysis indicated that RS intake can improve some inflammatory biomarkers.
Vahdat M et al. · Nutrition journal (2020)
No clear effect
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Could be chance
Overall, 13 studies with 14 effect sizes met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis.
However, no significant changes were found in C-reactive protein concentration (weighted mean difference = - 0.21 mg/L; 95% CI: - 1.06, 0.63 mg/L; P = 0.61).
The current meta-analysis indicated that RS intake can improve some inflammatory biomarkers.
These findings support the integration of fermented FM into dietary strategies aiming to mitigate diabetes and its complications, highlighting the importance of fermentation in unlocking its full nutraceutical potential.
Tawde P et al. · Journal of food science (2026)
Additionally, fermentation enhances the growth of beneficial gut microorganisms, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which ferment fiber into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyrate and propionate.
These SCFAs are crucial for enhancing glucose and lipid metabolism via pathways such as AMPK activation and GLUT4 translocation.
In vivo studies reported that fermented FM products outperform non-fermented forms in lowering fasting blood glucose, improving lipid profiles, and protecting pancreatic beta-cell function, thereby substantiating their role as functional foods for T2DM management.