TWU nutrition expert has key to improve gut health

June 12, 2025 – DENTON – Resistant starch is having a moment.

After being something that was mainly discussed in academic journals, resistant starches are popping up more and more in casual conversation and the national media. 

Mindy Patterson, an associate professor at Texas Woman’s Houston, is a sought-after expert in this specialized field. She recently spoke with NPR radio about the health benefits of resistant starches.

“Resistant starch is a niche thing to talk about,” Patterson said. “Not everyone has heard about it.” 

Resistant starch, a type of carbohydrate, is aptly named since it literally resists digestion. Instead of being broken down and absorbed in the small intestine, this nutrient goes straight to the large intestine, where it provides fuel for beneficial microbes. 

“What's great about resistant starch is it is found naturally in starchy foods like potatoes, beans, legumes, oats and barley, whole grains, nuts and seeds,” Patterson explained. 

Why are people talking about it? 

“I think more people are becoming very aware that gut health is very, very important, and resistant starch directly feeds the beneficial microbes in the gut,” Patterson said. “We know that it does quite amazing things. There are a lot of clinical trials to support it.” 

Studies have shown that eating resistant starches improves gut health, lowers inflammation and improves insulin resistance in people who already have blood sugar issues. Insulin is a hormone that is vital to regulating blood sugar levels, and resistance occurs when cells don’t respond to insulin as they should. 

Resistant starches are also well tolerated. They don’t cause pain, nor do they lead to bloating,  diarrhea, or constipation like other prebiotics do.  

Another trendy word connected to resistance starches is GLP-1, short for Glucagon-like-peptide-1, which is naturally produced by the body. Synthetic versions are used in medications to treat diabetes and weight loss. 

“When these beneficial microbes eat the resistant starch, they release compounds, and, like I say, those compounds are where the magic happens,” Patterson said. “And those compounds bind to cells in our intestine that release things like GLP-1 and other peptides that are beneficial for us. So, it’s kinda like a natural way to stimulate GLP-1.”

Patterson says she was a little bit lucky to fall into the field. Her dissertation at Texas Woman’s focused on fiber, and resistant starch is a prebiotic fiber. Around that same time was when gut health and gut microbiome were getting heightened public attention.  

“I just got in on the cusp of all of this,” Patterson said. “Since then, resistant starch, it is something that has been funded. People are interested in this. And, now with the gut health and the GLP-1 component, I think it’s come to the limelight.”

As soon as Patterson became an assistant professor in TWU’s nutrition and food sciences department, she was funded by the Alliance for Potato Research and Education, which was interested in resistant starch.

“That was my first study and it just catapulted from there,” Patterson said. 

Her potato study looked at females who were insulin resistant. Participants consumed a hot baked potato one week and then a chilled potato a week later. Patterson’s team saw reductions in blood sugar and mostly insulin because of the immediate effect of reducing the starch load. More of a reduction was seen with the chilled potato. 

That cooking and chilling effect is a practical way to increase resistant starch in foods, especially high carbohydrate foods like white rice and pasta. 

“Beans cooked are going to have resistant starch but when you chill them, you are going to get almost twice as much,” Patterson said. 

She published a paper revealing that Americans get about four grams of resistant starch per day, well below the 15-30 grams a day that Patterson says you need to show any kind of gut or metabolic benefit. 

“Even if you eat a diet high in beans and chilled potatoes, you have to still be very purposeful to try and get as much of that in your diet as you can,” Patterson stated. “It’s almost as if people need to augment with a supplement.” 

What is Patterson’s top nutrition advice?

She boils it down to two priorities: Increase plant-based fiber intake and consume more resistant starches by cooking, then chilling, starchy foods.

TWU Houston, a member of the Texas Medical Center, offers graduate degrees in nutrition, and exercise and sports nutrition.