Spuds, sushi, green salads big tick for tummies

A combination of both a potato salad and the traditional green salad are recommended for the best dietary results in the latest booklet of the Gut Foundation Constipation and Bloating.

If constipation is an issue for people then they should reach for the potato salad or sushi in addition to the more traditional salad favourites because of their resistant starch and dietary fibre which assists in proper bowel movement.

Resistant starch is starch from cereals, fruits and vegetables that isn’t digested by enzymes in the small intestine but broken down by bacteria in the large intestine instead. Dietary fibre is the remains of plant foods that – like resistant starch – passes undigested through the small intestine and is mostly broken down by bacteria in the colon.

How starch is cooked determines which part of the digestive system breaks it down. When starchy food like a potato is eaten hot, it’s digested in the small intestine, but if it is allowed to cool, the starch ends up in the large bowel as resistant starch. Rice cooked by the Asian absorption-method – commonly used in sushi and many Asian restaurants – also contains more resistant starch.

While both resistant starch and dietary fibre ferment in the bowel, resistant starch can produce more volatile fatty acids than dietary fibre. These fatty acids can protect against colon cancer. Both dietary fibre and resistant starch contribute to faecal bulk, which has a significant role in normal bowel movements.

People all need at least 30 grams of dietary fibre each day, as recommended by the Gut Foundation. So while the healthy salad – the one with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and celery – does contain significant amounts of vitamins and minerals, it’s not the perfect diet. Add the fibre food.