Resistant wheat starch, appetite and food intake in healthy adults
What it found
Swapping regular wheat flour for resistant wheat starch in muffins lowered insulin levels and cut total daily calorie intake by 179 kcal in healthy adults.
It did not change how hungry people felt or how much they ate at lunch.
What they found
Studies in people
Daily calorie intake
People ate 179 fewer calories over the whole day when their breakfast muffins contained resistant wheat starch instead of regular flour. This total includes the breakfast meal itself.
Hunger and lunch intake
Swapping the flour type made no difference to how hungry people felt. The amount eaten at a free-choice lunch four hours later was also about the same.
Blood insulin levels
Replacing regular flour with resistant wheat starch lowered insulin levels in the blood after eating.
Blood sugar and gut hormones
The swap did not change blood sugar levels. It also had no effect on three gut hormones linked to feeling full: cholecystokinin, glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY 3-36.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that swapping regular wheat flour for resistant wheat starch lowers insulin levels in the blood.
- They note that this replacement also reduces total calorie intake over a 24-hour period.
How it was done
The researchers wanted to see if replacing standard wheat flour with resistant wheat starch would change feelings of hunger and the amount of food eaten by healthy adults.
Twenty-seven healthy adults took part in a crossover trial where each person tried both test breakfasts on separate days. They ate muffins made with either regular wheat flour or flour where 40% was replaced with resistant wheat starch. Researchers tracked hunger ratings, blood markers and food intake over the rest of the day.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial only measured effects over a single day, so it cannot show what happens when people eat resistant wheat starch regularly over weeks or months.
- The study tested just one dose, where 40% of the flour was replaced, so scientists do not yet know if other amounts have different effects.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Iowa State University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Effect of resistant wheat starch on subjective appetite and food intake in healthy adults
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Emilien CH, Hsu WH, Hollis JH (2017). Effect of resistant wheat starch on subjective appetite and food intake in healthy adults. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). doi:10.1016/j.nut.2017.06.020PubMed 28935147DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error