Any starch which resists digestion and absorption in the small intestine and passes through to the large intestine, where it acts just like dietary fibre to improve bowel health, is a resistant starch.



Where do you find Resistant Starch?
Some Resistant Starch can be found in lentils, cooked then cooled potatoes, pasta and some breads and cereals. Hi-maize made naturally from maize, is a rich source of Resistant Starch.

How much resistant starch do we need?
A CSIRO Report, from Australia, on Dietary Fibre and Resistant Starch, published in March 1996, recommends that: "intakes in the order of 20 grams per day of resistant starch may be needed to obtain some of the bowel related benefits."

How much resistant starch do we currently eat?
It is estimated that developed countries currently consume between 3 - 7 grams of resistant starch per day.

What are the health benefits of resistant starch?

• Improves the health of the bowel by encouraging the development of strong healthy cells and beneficial bacteria.
• Increases the levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFA), in particular butyrate (pronounced bewtir-ate) which is considered to be vital for optimum bowel health and may be protective against colorectal cancer.
• Mild laxative effect to help "keep you regular".
• When added to carbohydrate foods like bread, resistant starch beneficially lowers the glycemic response of foods by releasing glucose into the bloodstream at a regular steady rate.
• Population studies show that as the amount of starch in the diet increases the incidence of colon cancer decreases which is thought to be due to the higher levels of resistant starch contained in such diets.

What is Hi-maize?
Hi-maize is a totally natural ingredient made from a natural maize (corn) which is rich in resistant starch and can be used to boost our daily resistant starch intake. The naturally white fine granules of Hi-maize make it invisible when added to food and drink products.

Hi-maize has been developed during a 20-year natural plant breeding program and contains no genetically modified material.

Where is Hi-maize found?
It has been developed and is grown in Australia and the US under contract by National Starch. Hi-maize is the natural starch extracted from the specialty corn through conventional milling procedures. When used as an ingredient in everyday supermarket items such as bread, breakfast cereals, soup, dairy desserts, noodles and pasta, Hi-maize can significantly raise the dietary fibre content of these foods. By improving the dietary fibre content of these products, Hi-maize has the potential to improve the health value of the diet, without requiring major changes in eating habits.