Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Starch Content Question

For some reason I am unable to reply to the starch content thread, so here goes:

Why is that in the master starch content list, which most of this forum follows, nearly all fruits are listed as starch free, where as in other lists they are shown as being quite high in starch? For example, prunes are listed as zero starch at kickas, but according to the National Agricultural Library (http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2465), they have 63.88 g of carbs, 7.1 g and 38.13 g being fibre and starch respectively. As far as I know this must leave very a significant amount of complex carbs, or starch, around 19%. A less extreme example is raw pears: kickas says 0 starch, National Agricultural Library says 15.5 g carbs - 3.1 g fibre and - 9.8 g sugar = 2.6 g starch. While 2.6% is still quite low, it is more than several foods that people here avoid.

One thing that sticks out: Almonds, by similar arithmetic and the same source, ought to be about 6% starch, but peanuts are only 3.66%. However, this is the opposite of the data provided here, and therefore many askickers swear by almonds but do not eat peanuts.


In fact most of the value in the list seem to be artificially low. The big assumption that I am making is that TOTAL CARBS - SUGAR - FIBRE = STARCH. Is there some other non-sugar, non-fibre, non-complex carb (starch) carb that I am not aware of? Also, what makes the source in that thread more credible than others?

There can be a wide variance among different samples of fruit in the same category. The same goes for many types of vegetables. Just ask Kiwi, who lives in a country where the starch content varies widely between the beginning and end of a growing season. Perhaps different testing methodologies explains part of the differences between lists, but I suspect the real variance among food samples is a large part of the inconsistencies.

My opinion: each one must try the food in your country or area. For us, iodine test is more reliable. For example, our apples or zucchini are always starch negative iodine test, however you talk about that some sites are starchy.
I think the list can serve as a guide, but each person must make their own tests when there is suspicion of starch in the food.
Health!
Maiga

No list is exact, so I treat all of them as guidelines and pay attention to those items that are known to be high in starch. Starches vary, as well as how a body handles those starches. Even how an item is prepared makes a difference, as I seem to have little problem with steamed cauliflower, but baked seems to cause some problems. That's why NSD requires a lot of trial-and-error in making it work, and why NSD must be approached as a long-term commitment rather than a short, quick fix.

--Greg

Hello, marb:

We try to not make an issue of the more technical side of the starch discussion, but there are many carbohydrates besides starches and sugars and we are only interested in available starches, one class of polysaccharides, that contain an alpha acetyl bond. Celluslose has a nearly identical chemical composition as starch, but does not offer our nemesis bacterium the opportunity to use it as a food source as its enzymes cannot cleave beta acetyl bonds.

In looking at actual food characteristics, the source of our 'starch content' data, McCance and Widdowson, used analytical methods that were unable to include pectins, cellulose, lignins, etc.

So there is some confusion because of the missing components in the TOTAL CARBS - SUGAR - FIBRE = STARCH assumption.

That said, our data is further compromised because as others have suggested, the season and harvest characteristics often determine the starch content of fruits; plucked too early and some fruits are dangerously starchy. This highlights the need to perform iodine testing on a sample from every harvest.

In the case of dried fruits, in particular prunes, our experiences are that there is so little available starch that the majority of people using NSD do not perceptibly react to them. Carol Sinclir suggests that most dried fruits are similar in this regard. Raw pears can be very starchy again, if harvested too early:



It is confusing, but we each need to experiment and 'make the diet work' for our individual sensitivities.

HEALTH,
John