Special Edition: Blood Sugar Management
Resistant starch
The US FDA approved a qualified health claim for resistant starch, which reads: "High-amylose maize resistant starch may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, although FDA has concluded that there is limited scientific evidence for this claim."
The US claim will be restricted to products using high-amylose maize starch containing at least 50% resistant starch that is unmodified and has only been subject to conventional milling processes (right now only Ingredion’s HI-MAIZE 260 product – a specific kind of starch manufactured from the HYLON VII variety of high-amylose corn – meets this definition, although others could in future).
It followed a citizen’s petition submitted by Ingredion in March 2015, which cited clinical studies demonstrating that HI-MAIZE 260 increases insulin sensitivity in people with prediabetes, and thus helps them manage their blood glucose.
“This is the highest claim achieved for a dietary ingredient or food reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes,” said Rhonda Witwer, an expert in resistant starch who worked at Ingredion for more than a decade before setting up the consultancy Witwer Works.
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