The ketogenic diet, or "keto" for short, has surged in popularity in recent years as a weight-loss approach. This dietary regimen emphasizes high fat intake, moderate protein consumption, and very low carbohydrate intake, shifting the body's primary energy source from carbohydrates to fats through a process called ketosis. As more individuals adopt this lifestyle, the demand for keto-friendly products has increased, leading to innovative ingredient solutions in the food industry.
Understanding the Keto Diet
The keto diet's popularity stems from its effectiveness in promoting weight loss, reducing inflammation, and providing sustained energy. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake to fewer than 30 grams of net carbs per day for many keto dietary plans. Net carbs are the carbohydrates that the body digests, calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohol content from the total carbohydrate content.
When carbohydrate intake is restricted, the body enters ketosis, where the liver converts fats into fatty acids and ketone bodies. These ketone bodies then serve as the primary fuel source for the body, including the brain, which traditionally relies on glucose derived from carbohydrates.
The Role of Modified Wheat Starch
Modified wheat starch is derived from native wheat starch through physical, chemical, or enzymatic processes to enhance its functional properties. These modifications can improve the starch's binding, thickening, and stabilizing characteristics, making it valuable in various food applications.
Production and Uses
Modified wheat starch production dates back to the 19th century. It is now widely used in the food and beverage industry to improve the texture and mouthfeel of soups, sauces, and dairy products. For instance, it acts as a stabilizer in ice cream and yogurt, preventing crystallization and creating a creamier texture.
Read also: Modified Keto Diet: Is It Right for You?
Modified Wheat Starch on Keto
Modified wheat starch is gaining recognition in many industries for its binding, thickening and stabilizing characteristics. Individuals with gluten intolerance or on the keto diet typically look for foods that contain little to no gluten. Native wheat starch, transformed into modified starch by the starch modification techniques, contains increased resistant starch content.
Resistant Starch: A Keto-Friendly Fiber
Resistant starch (RS) is a type of starch that resists digestion in the small intestine and instead ferments in the large intestine, acting similarly to dietary fiber. This characteristic makes it a potentially valuable ingredient for keto products, as it contributes minimal digestible carbohydrates.
RS4 Resistant Starch: A Game Changer
RS4 resistant starch, in particular, has emerged as an industry game-changer for individuals following a keto diet and those with diabetes seeking to control blood glucose levels. Its high fiber content helps develop newer and safer bread and food products that support ketosis and help control blood glucose. Clinical studies further support these claims.
Clinical Evidence
Several studies have investigated the effects of RS4 consumption on blood glucose and insulin levels:
- Kansas State University Study: A randomized controlled crossover trial at Kansas State University found that RS4 consumption lowered glucose and insulin levels in the postprandial period in healthy college-aged participants. RS4 reduced glucose and insulin areas under the curve (iAUC) and peak levels compared to dextrose and puffed wheat controls.
- Double-Blind Clinical Trial: A double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial examined the acute effects of a cookie containing Fibersym® RW, an RS4-type resistant wheat starch. The study showed that the Fibersym cookie significantly lowered the 90-minute blood glucose incremental area under the curve (IAUC) and reduced glucose concentrations at 30 and 45 minutes post-consumption compared to the Control cookie. Insulin levels were also attenuated with the Fibersym cookie.
- Ileostomy Subject Study: A study assessing the digestibility of cross-linked phosphorylated wheat starch (CLP wheat starch), a commercial Type 4 resistant starch, found that it had an in vivo resistant starch level of 84.0%, compared to 10.8% for native wheat starch. The effective dietary fiber of CLP wheat starch was found to be 89.0% in comparison to the native wheat starch.
These studies suggest that RS4 resistant starch can help manage blood sugar levels, making it a suitable ingredient for keto-friendly products and diabetic-friendly foods.
Read also: Using Resistant Wheat Starch for Keto
Incorporating Modified Wheat Starch into Keto Baking
One of the most significant challenges in formulating keto-friendly foods is replacing traditional, high-carbohydrate ingredients like wheat flour. Modified wheat starch, particularly RS4 resistant wheat starch, offers a viable solution.
Replacing Wheat Flour
RS4 resistant wheat starch can replace wheat flour in keto formulations, functioning similarly to wheat starch in baking but with minimal contribution to net carb counts. When combined with wheat proteins, such as wheat protein isolates, it can impart the viscoelastic properties necessary for creating bread and other baked goods.
Functional Benefits
- Texture and Structure: Resistant wheat starch provides a surface suitable for a strong union with gluten and dilutes gluten to a consistency desirable for dough processing.
- Dough Handling: Wheat protein isolate improves dough handling and the quality of the finished product.
- Nutritional Qualities: An analog flour of Fibersym® RW RS4-type Resistant Wheat Starch, combined with Arise® wheat protein isolate and vital wheat gluten, can replace all the wheat flour in low net-carb or keto formulations while providing the texture, structure, and mouthfeel of a conventional wheat-based product.
Examples of Keto-Friendly Baked Goods
- Keto Bread: Commercial bakers can create keto bread comparable to classic white bread using alternative processing methods and ingredients. The high amount of wheat proteins in keto bread baking requires proper hydration and longer mix time to fully develop the gluten.
- Keto Pizza Crust: Food scientists have developed keto-friendly pizza crusts using wheat protein isolate and RS4 resistant wheat starch to replace all the flour. A 55-gram serving of such a crust contains only 2 grams of net carbs.
- Keto Cheese Crackers: Keto-friendly flour blends, such as those from Ardent Mills, can be used to create cheese crackers with simple ingredients like cheddar cheese, butter, water, and salt. These crackers can have a nutrition profile of 140 calories, 11 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein, and no net carbs per serving.
- Keto Hamburger Buns: Delicious and nutritious buns that won’t bust your carb budget.
Considerations for Baking
- Fermentation: Bakers need to plan for additional time during the fermentation process due to the lack of sugar or other nutrients required by the yeast to leaven the dough.
- Oven Conditions: Monitoring the correlation between oven conditions (timing/temperature) and microbial inactivation, crumb set, and color formation using thermal profiling is critical to manufacture a more consistent and desirable product.
Other Ingredients in Keto Baking
In addition to modified wheat starch and wheat proteins, other ingredients play a crucial role in keto baking:
- Proteins: Neutral flavors such as wheat protein concentrates and isolates, dairy proteins, and soy protein are used widely. Wheat proteins can be used in keto bread applications to provide the “bread and dough” properties such as gas retention, texture, flavor, and crumb and crust characteristics. Other proteins can provide properties such as water solubility, water holding capacity, emulsification properties, gelation, and whipping properties.
- Fibers: Increasing the amount of fiber can compensate for the bulking properties of easily digestible carbohydrates while reducing the net digestible carbohydrates. It is crucial to evaluate for heavy taste and texture while using dietary fibers.
- Fats: Dairy fat, coconut oil, and palm kernel oil are all concentrated sources of medium-chain triglycerides, which are saturated fats with molecular characteristics that allow them to behave differently inside the body compared to other fats. Eggs are also a source of fat and protein, and often used in dairy-free formulations.
- Sweeteners: Sweeteners such as allulose, erythritol, monk fruit, and stevia are used to provide sweetness without adding to the carbohydrate content.