This study
compared sweet potato starch to white potato starch and concluded that the sweet potato was superior for controlling insulin resistance.
The scientists concluded: «Our results illustrated that
sweet potato starch feeding for 4 wk can improve insulin sensitivity in insulin - resistant rats, possibly by improving the adipocytokine levels... and insulin signalling.»
Swap noodles for 100 % buckwheat soba noodles, kelp noodles (made from seaweed), zucchini noodles (see recipe by Jessica Sepel here), acorn noodles (made using acorn flour and buckwheat flour), bean threads (made using mung bean starch), buckwheat vermicelli, harusame (made from potato, sweet potato or mung bean starch), shirataki (made from the konjac plant), sweet potato vermicelli (made
from sweet potato starch) or tapioca noodles (made from tapioca starch).
STUDY THREE — the Japanese study on insulin resistance discussed above also found that
sweet potato starch reduced many inflammatory chemicals.
The scientists found that
sweet potato starch boosted the function of insulin receptors, meaning that significantly less insulin was required to shuttle energy into them efficiently.
Is
sweet potato starch the same thing as sweet potato flour?
Furthermore,
sweet potato starch had stronger anti-inflammatory powers than regular potato starch.
In this Japanese study from 2013, scientists took 24 rats who had developed diabetes after being assigned a high - fructose diet, and fed
them sweet potato starch for 4 weeks.
It is commercially available as a corn starch, potato starch,
sweet potato starch, wheat starch, oat starch, tapioca starch, kudzu root starch («kuzu starch» or «kuzuko» in Japan, «ge gen» in China), arrowroot starch, water chestnut starch or sago starch.
Those receiving
the sweet potato starch had a greater improvement in their insulin status: «our results illustrated that sweet potato starch feeding for 4 wk can improve insulin sensitivity in insulin - resistant rats, possibly by improving the adipocytokine levels... and insulin signalling.»
However there's clearly some other beneficial phytonutrients; a Japanese study gathered 24 diabetic rats and 16 healthy rats and fed them either
sweet potato starch or white potato starch.