Starch

Stroudmo
Stroudmo Posts: 1 Member
edited December 24 in Health and Weight Loss
I need to figure out how much starch I am having for breakfast. I'm at a loss as to how to calculate the starch. Thanks for your help

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    You'll need to find a database/food tracking app that lists starch values. You won't be able to find them on MFP.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Starch is a type of carb but not something that is tracked or distinguished on food labels. Why do you need to specifically know how much starch you are consuming? I would suggest finding a list of foods high in starch and tally how many of those you eat.

    https://www.diabetes.org/nutrition/understanding-carbs/get-to-know-carbs
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Stroudmo wrote: »
    I need to figure out how much starch I am having for breakfast. I'm at a loss as to how to calculate the starch. Thanks for your help

    MFP won't list that specifically, but you can look at a food label and take the total carbohydrates - sugar - fiber = starch. The three components of carbohydrates are sugar/fiber/starch
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    Isn’t “starch” the old way of referring to carbs?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    amyepdx wrote: »
    Isn’t “starch” the old way of referring to carbs?

    No. And I'm old.
  • onepebble
    onepebble Posts: 22 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    amyepdx wrote: »
    Isn’t “starch” the old way of referring to carbs?

    No. And I'm old.

    I read it as an alternative to “carbs” - it feels like a dieting term from about the 70s or earlier- maybe from weight watchers or something.
    I’m old too!
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    No judgment, just curious...why are you wanting to track starch?
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Starch is a carb. It is more complex than the simplest carbs in white bread, and takes longer to raise your blood insulin response for an equal-calorie intake.

    Other than that, some starches, such as rice and pasta, can be cooked then refrigerated for 12 hours to convert their starch content to a form of starch called "resistant" starch. Resistant starches are not digested in the stomach or small intestine, but only in the large intestine where the energy released is consumed by the microbes of your biome. Even so, I've never been inspired to cook a pot of spaghetti and then wait a day to eat it just to see if that will actually help me maintain a calorie deficit.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    Stroudmo wrote: »
    I need to figure out how much starch I am having for breakfast. I'm at a loss as to how to calculate the starch. Thanks for your help

    I am most curious as to why you need to track starch. I have never come across anyone doing this before.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    onepebble wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    amyepdx wrote: »
    Isn’t “starch” the old way of referring to carbs?

    No. And I'm old.

    I read it as an alternative to “carbs” - it feels like a dieting term from about the 70s or earlier- maybe from weight watchers or something.
    I’m old too!

    Thanks - that’s what I meant and I’m old too!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited January 2020
    onepebble wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    amyepdx wrote: »
    Isn’t “starch” the old way of referring to carbs?

    No. And I'm old.

    I read it as an alternative to “carbs” - it feels like a dieting term from about the 70s or earlier- maybe from weight watchers or something.
    I’m old too!

    When I was growing up (so '70s and '80s), I recall learning (not formally, just as common knowledge) that a dinner was made up of a protein (probably "meat or fish"), a starch, and a vegetable. A "starch" wasn't simply a carb -- it certainly did not include fruit or candy or jello (which was a "dessert," LOL), and as noted veg were a separate component -- but specifically a starchy carb. So bread, rice, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, peas (usually canned), spaghetti, some other grain, etc. This had nothing to do with dieting, and is basically the old "meat and potatoes" way of eating I grew up with (which IME always included a non-starchy veg or salad too).

    That's what I'd assume if someone mentioned "a starch" now too.

    Starch itself can be measured, as can sugar, but I'm not sure why one would need to.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    Starch is a carb. It is more complex than the simplest carbs in white bread, and takes longer to raise your blood insulin response for an equal-calorie intake.

    Basic carb breakdown (excluding fiber, which is different) are starch and sugar. White bread can easily be made of flour, water, and yeast, and even if it includes a bit of sugar or honey the predominant source of cals (and of carbs) is, of course, starch. So I don't get the contrast here.

    Starch is very easy for your body to break down, although depending on the form it will take longer than sugar (which is why most fuels for athletic performance are sugars, although not all). Usually fiber tends to slow it down (whether sugar or starch), although it can be more complicated, of course.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited January 2020
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    Starch is a carb. It is more complex than the simplest carbs in white bread, and takes longer to raise your blood insulin response for an equal-calorie intake.

    Other than that, some starches, such as rice and pasta, can be cooked then refrigerated for 12 hours to convert their starch content to a form of starch called "resistant" starch. Resistant starches are not digested in the stomach or small intestine, but only in the large intestine where the energy released is consumed by the microbes of your biome. Even so, I've never been inspired to cook a pot of spaghetti and then wait a day to eat it just to see if that will actually help me maintain a calorie deficit.

    Well, I'll save you the experiment - this type of year my breakfast is rice and lentils that I cook ahead of time and eat during the week. Unfortunately, there is no magical diminishment of the rice calories after they transform into a resistant starch :(
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