Some of you may recall my assertions regarding raw starch having a
stabilizing effect on blood sugar, whereas cooked starch actually spikes
blood sugar, and wreaks havoc with it, and is a detriment to the body in
general. You may recall my mentioning that it is ridiculous to
single-handedly accuse ALL starch - whether raw or cooked - as being
"bad news". I also mentioned that in MY experience, cooked starch was a
detriment to my health and well-being, energy level, and so on. It's
easy to make claims - anecdotal or otherwise - but I know many people on
this list crave some sort of scientific "proof" for assertions which are
often made.

Well, I did a little digging, and came up with a very solid piece of
reference material which indeed validates precisely my point regarding
raw versus cooked starch foods. The study is an "old" one, but keep in
mind that humans are still humans, and what was true then, is still true
now. And, I can offer MY own experience with raw vs. cooked starch as
differing like night and day. It's a gap that's as wide as the gap
between North America and Japan. In other words, total contrast; a
"180".

So, without further ado, here are some details regarding the following
study...

---
50 grams of raw starch was administered to 7 patients, and 75 grams to
another 2 patients, free from alimentary disease or diabetes. Blood
sugar showed an average increase of 1 mg per 100 mL in one-half hour, a
decrease of 1.2 mg in 1 hour, and a decrease of 3 mg in 2 hours. When 50
grams of cooked starch was given the average increase was 56 mg in
one-half hour, 51 mg in 1 hour, and 11 mg in 2 hours after the meal. 50
grams of raw starch was eaten by 7 diabetic patients to whom no insulin
had been given for several days. Average increase in blood sugar was 6
mg in one-half hour, a decrease of 9 mg in 1 hour, and a decrease of 14
mg in 2&one-half hours after the starch meal.

Reference:
Rosenthal & Ziegler, George Washington University Hospital and Hygienic
Laboratory, Arch.Int.Med., 44:344-50(1929)
---

Quite a tangible difference indeed!

I'm sure that there are other studies that could help validate this as
well as my experience, even more so. The problem is, most studies are
done using COOKED starches (as well as other foods). Studies such as
this are hard to come by, and are a rare find. If anyone here knows of
any other studies similar to this one, please post it to the list. I'm
sure others would also be interested in this sort of information.

-- Wes