Best Starch Digestion Aid?

Runenight201

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I want to gather various different options to try to help aid my body's digestion of starch. I absolutely cannot get on without it. I've tried the only fruit and milk thing, and unfortunately I end up not being able to get enough calories in before I start peeing every 10-15 minutes and go cold. I also want to stick to low-fat because theoretically I think it makes the most sense, and I'm also struggling with a little bit of excess weight and gut inflammation/bloating.

The only problem with starch is that often times I'll bloat/swell up very soon after consuming it. It definitely helps in terms of getting more salt, peeing less, and feeling satiated, but it's often accompanied with the bloating and swelling, which usually brings acne and a general feeling of too much heat (I'll feel uncomfortable at anything above room temperature and sweat very easily).

I aggressively salt my rice/potatoes. I don't think fat helps with the digestion because it theoretically should slow it down right? If anything I want it to be digested more rapidly so that it has less time to cause endotoxin. Is betaine HCL the best option? Anyone have any other good recommendations? I want to try various supps and see what works best.
 

Blossom

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@lisaferraro has mentioned having positive experiences with some specific digestive enzymes so I'm tagging her. You could also search her posts.
Enzymedica is one brand that comes to mind. I personally used their digest gold formula years ago (pre-Peat) and found it helpful.
 
L

lollipop

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Hi @Blossom,

Thanks for tagging me. I like Enzymedica Digest Basic. Low potency as compared to the Gold formula. Also I like Dr. Best bromelein.

Hope this helps!
 

walker_in_aus

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I also find chewing the absolute s$%t out of your foods until it's a liquid in your mouth helps a lot. Eat your drinks, drink your foods.

It should be easy but I still tend to wolf down a bowl of rice before remembering hahaha.
 
L

lollipop

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I also find chewing the absolute s$%t out of your foods until it's a liquid in your mouth helps a lot. Eat your drinks, drink your foods.

It should be easy but I still tend to wolf down a bowl of rice before remembering hahaha.
+1 I think this is best. Sometimes a little extra help is needed. That is why I like DE in those cases.
 
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Runenight201

Runenight201

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I think the consistency and water content of the starch matters a lot in terms of digestion. Also how long it's been refrigerated for. When I wrote this post, I had a bad reaction to some potatoes that I had been letting sit in the fridge for 3 days, and I was even questioning eating them when I set them on the plate because they looked a little dismal.

I scarfed down maybe 400-500 calories of freshly made white rice and felt pretty good after it. Definitely didn't drink my food, and I've heard many friends/family tell me I eat way too fast, but it's so hard not too when I'm savagely hungry and there's a nice piping hot plate of food in front of me. What on earth does it mean to eat my drinks? Mix in the OJ with the rice while it's in my mouth until it's a oj/rice slushie? I always love having some OJ with my starches, it complements the salty aspect of it so nicely.

I'll look into those digestive enzyme brands. Can't hurt to experiment a little bit. I'll be eating rice instead of potatoes tomorrow, we'll see how it goes.
 

walker_in_aus

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Mix in the OJ with the rice while it's in my mouth until it's a oj/rice slushie?

Hahaha no, although rice cooked in OJ is delicious with like smokey bbq chicken or fresh grilled prawns. Not it means don't gulp a litre of liquid down in 30 seconds. Sip it, swish it, allow the enzymes in your Saliva to mix with it and pre digest it before it gets to your stomach and upper intestines.
 
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Runenight201

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I just had a huge success today with masa harina tortillas made with whole milk as the base instead of water. I ate the tortillas with mozzarella cheese on top, salt, and milk to drink. I don't think this bloated me anywhere close to the amount potatoes and rice do, and the milk as the base instead of water definitely helps with my water retention issues. I noticed that rice retains all the water I make it with, and so it makes me urinate frequently when I eat it. Perhaps I could try making rice with whole milk as the base....and throw some sugar + cinnamon in there and make arroz con leche!

I don't have anywhere near the digestive distress that potatoes and rice give me, which is nice. Definitely don't have the clear headed, clean, dopamine energy rush that milk + coffee + sugar + oj gives me, but milk and oj just isn't sustainable for me and I need a starch to balance it out, and I think masa harina might be the winner here. Gonna eat this for the next couple days as my starch base, play around with different toppings like tomatoes and hot sauce and jelly and what not. Now the true test is whether this meal makes me sleep soundly through the night...
 
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Runenight201

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Does ability to digest starch/amylase enzyme quantity increase with metabolic function? Would an amylase deficiency cause poor digestibility of starch, post-starch consumption crash, subsequently feed endotoxin and spike inflammation?
 

Lynne

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I think the consistency and water content of the starch matters a lot in terms of digestion. Also how long it's been refrigerated for. When I wrote this post, I had a bad reaction to some potatoes that I had been letting sit in the fridge for 3 days, and I was even questioning eating them when I set them on the plate because they looked a little dismal

Also, leaving the starch in the fridge for more than 12 hours (some say less) converts the starch to the resistant kind, which is indigestible and a reliable cause of bloating.
 

DDK

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Raw Honey is the best way to help you digest starch, it has specific enzymes for this purpose. Sure you could waste money on digestive enzyme supplements or you could take an actual food which is far more effective, tastes better, is a source of nutrition/carbs and is cheaper. Not saying digestive enzyme supplements don't work, I just think honey is a better option.
 

Elephanto

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A cup of warm water some times before your meal can be helpful, not only in hypothyroidism but also when stress hormones have been high. Something that could seem intuitive but is actually counter-productive is taking vinegar, as it specifically inhibits starch digestion and related enzymes. Too much salt taken at once probably doesn't help either by irritating the gut. And of course, having a mind free of worry always help digestion.

High-Salt Diet Induces IL-17-Dependent Gut Inflammation and Exacerbates Colitis in Mice

As a side note, it's best to not mix sugar and starch together. This combo was shown to promote Candida's biofilm formation the most (sugar also increasing it more than starch alone).
 
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Runenight201

Runenight201

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I’m finding the type of starch matters, at least to me. Potatoes and rice cause bloating, and I can never eat a sufficient amount of calories to satiate me before my stomach becomes too full. Forcing the matter causes more problems

I have no problems with white bread and pasta, and can easily eat the amount of calories I need to satiate me while keeping my stomach happy and non-bloated. Interesting, wheat has more protein than any other starch (3x as much, not too mention a high amount of proline) and is also denser calorically than any other starch (~2x as much or more). I think this is why I feel better eating wheat as opposed to any other starch.

At this point I don’t really care about what gluten in theory does too my body. I feel better having wheat as my main starch, no digestive issues and increased sense of well-being for me.
 

walker_in_aus

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This is GOLD! I tend to chew in a rush and then just swallow straight away. My digestion is definitely compromised when I do this... particularly for meat.
You're not the only one! I always do this with starchy food, I think its psychological after years of low carb, sugar is bad, guilty starch eating, now I have to fight against the urge to gulp delicious bulk carbs/sugary treats as fast as possible!
 

tara

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Don't know what will work for you, but I think some possibly relevant factors might be:
  • really tasty accompaniments - good varied interesting appetising flavours,
  • some fat with it, maybe something sour, etc
  • watch which foods work best for you
  • practice - start smaller and gradually increase
  • follow with a bit of something sweet
  • try different forms to see which suit you
  • moderate sized servings - better to eat before you get so ravenous that you gulp down to much/too fast.
  • restful eating - not eating in a rush or on the run or worrying, if you can avoid it, but sitting calmly in a pleasant place, maybe with good company, etc.
  • getting enough sleep
  • timing - eating when your digestion is strong and you are hungry (for me I seem to digest best around midday - I eat at other times, but this is the best time for the biggest meal.)
 
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Runenight201

Runenight201

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Don't know what will work for you, but I think some possibly relevant factors might be:
  • really tasty accompaniments - good varied interesting appetising flavours,
  • some fat with it, maybe something sour, etc
  • watch which foods work best for you
  • practice - start smaller and gradually increase
  • follow with a bit of something sweet
  • try different forms to see which suit you
  • moderate sized servings - better to eat before you get so ravenous that you gulp down to much/too fast.
  • restful eating - not eating in a rush or on the run or worrying, if you can avoid it, but sitting calmly in a pleasant place, maybe with good company, etc.
  • getting enough sleep
  • timing - eating when your digestion is strong and you are hungry (for me I seem to digest best around midday - I eat at other times, but this is the best time for the biggest meal.)

Confirming that eating with some fat and using moderate sized portions is the best way for me to digest starch. I'm thankful that cheese is a thing lol because I get to have a little bit of calcium and protein with the fat, butter just doesn't taste right for me. The dairy/non-dairy debate still resides strong with me, but I seem to tolerate cheese and yogurt fine, it's just milk that is the pesky problem. Sometimes milk digests fine, and other times it noticeably causes cognitive issues and what feels like inflammation. But if I drink it with starch (such as in a rice cereal), then I may be fine? Going to troubleshoot this some more, but for the mean time I'll be substituting coconut milk, which at least has added calcium, but I really do prefer the taste of milk :(

Also low key sourdough bread seems to digest well too... combined with a little bit of cream cheese with some sugar on top =P it's interesting because pasta noticeably causes joint pain with me (which I attribute to gluten or that 8:1 phosphate/calcium ratio), but sourdough doesn't. I'm sad about pasta, it truly is my favorite tasting starch. Rice and potatoes don't even come close to what pasta with marinara and parmesan cheese taste like :( Perhaps after becoming strong in digestive and metabolic health I'll be able to handle it every now and then :)
 

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