Hormonal
Dietary resistant starch (RS) improves insulin sensitivity and reduces plasma insulin levels independently of the gut microbiota, likely through modulation of bile acid profiles and reduction of adipose tissue macrophage infiltration.
If you are trying to improve insulin sensitivity, adding resistant starch (like cooled potatoes, green bananas, or specific supplements like Hi-Maize) to your diet can help, even if you haven't focused on probiotics or prebiotics for your gut bacteria. The study used a 10% replacement of starch with RS in a high-fat diet context. For humans, this translates to incorporating RS-rich foods into meals, particularly those high in refined carbs or fats, to potentially lower fasting insulin levels through direct metabolic pathways involving bile acids and reduced inflammation in fat tissue.
RS-mediated improvements in insulin levels also occurred in the absence of a microbiota... RS reduced gene expression of adipose tissue macrophage markers and altered cecal concentrations of several bile acids in both germ-free and conventionalized mice; these effects were strongly correlated with the metabolic benefits, providing a potential microbiota-independent mechanism to explain the physiological effects of RS.
Why this rating
High-quality mechanistic evidence using germ-free vs. conventionalized mice allows for causal inference regarding the microbiota's role, though it is an animal model.
Source
Resistant starch can improve insulin sensitivity independently of the gut microbiota
Laure B. Bindels et al. · Microbiome · 2017
DOI 10.1186/s40168-017-0230-5
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