Study confirms benefits of resistant wheat starch

Zwingenberg, Germany – A scientific study at the University of Munich indicates the resistant wheat starch Lory Starch Elara from ingredients specialist Loryma has only a minor effect on glucose levels and is therefore suited for use in high-fibre foods with added value.

The company describes the role of dietary fibres in a healthy lifestyle: “Industrially produced resistant wheat starches such as Lory Starch Elara are only partially digested in the small intestine, if at all, and are therefore hardly absorbed. As a result, they are ideally suited for enriching functional foods in terms of fibre content. Thus, they improve digestion in the short term, while helping counteract the long-term effects of various modern-day health problems: End products, for example, can help support a diet adapted to protect against diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity.” ¹ 

The company suggests that using Lory Starch Elara in products to create snack products can be created that have an attractive fibre content, and also become crunchier and structurally stable.

The study was commissioned by Loryma in 2022 and was carried out by the ZIEL Institute for Food & Health at the Technical University of Munich.

In order to produce products with added health value, conventional starch or flour can be proportionally replaced by Lory Starch Elara, the company says.

Examples of applications are baked goods such as a Nutri-Score A muffin, a high protein/lower carb yeast plait, toast bread and pizza dough. In addition to the increased fibre content through resistant starch, the protein content of these products was also increased with hydrolysed wheat protein. The Loryma development team has also developed concepts for shortbread with protein-rich Skyr filling and high-protein almond biscuits. In shortbread and biscuit doughs, the addition of Lory Starch Elara additionally creates a tender, crumbly texture. High-fibre pasta with reduced carbohydrate content is another possible application. The resistant wheat starch can also be extruded as part of a raw material mix: the extrudates not only increase the fibre content of snacks, but also impart an appealing crunch effect.

¹  European Commission. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway. https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/health-promotion-knowledge-gateway/dietary-fibre_en. Latest access: 17 August 2022.

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