Resistant Starch or RS

Speaking of the human Microbiome, have you heard about Resistant Starch?  Prebiotics are generally classified into three different types, one of which is Resistant Starch or RS—which is emerging as uniquely beneficial to help protect against colorectal cancer. Prebiotics were first identified and named by Marcel Roberfroid in 1995 and they differ from probiotics. Typically, a probiotic is a product or preparation that is taken to introduce live strains of bacteria into one’s Gastrointestinal Tract. Yogurt is one example. Prebiotics, on the other hand, are nondigestible plant fibers that are called resistant because they pass through the small intestine undigested and reach the large intestine (or colon or bowel) intact. Many strains of beneficial bacteria that live in the colon feed on prebiotics. Rather than being live bacteria as in probiotics, think of prebiotics as food and fertilizer for the good bacteria that are already living in your GI Tract. They also are believed to stifle production of undesirable disease-causing bacteria—all of which impacts your Microbiome.