I'd like to start a little discussion today about carbohydrates... and in
particular, "white foods" as well as potatoes. One reason I wanted to
mention this is because so many health and fitness professionals trash talk
potatoes about being a bad carbohydrate choice because of the high glycemic
index. Some even say such ridiculous things as "avoid any and all white
carbohydrates".
Ok, now while I certainly agree that
white bread and refined white sugar are two of the worst things we can be
feeding our bodies, I definitely don't agree with avoiding any and all
"white carbohydrates". Now I know all of the buzz lately has been
about colourful foods and the protective antioxidants that they contain. They
tell you to focus on colours and stay away from white.
It's true that colourful foods are
great, but it is a big mistake to specifically avoid white foods! There are
plenty of white foods that have specific nutrients that are hard to find
elsewhere. Let's look at a few examples...
Onions & Garlic
What about onions and garlic? They are
both white and they are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and
trace minerals that aren't easy to find elsewhere in a normal diet... such
nutrients as allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other
unique anti-inflammatory nutrients.
In fact, onions are so powerful for our
health, that one study of centenarians (people that live to over 100 years old)
identified that a common thread of these amazingly healthy individuals was that
they ate a lot of onions throughout their lives. And we also know that garlic
is one of the most powerful substances for a strong immune system, among other
qualities.
Cauliflower
Another example of something white that
is great for you is cauliflower. Cauliflower is loaded with vitamin C, fiber,
minerals, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which
are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli,
cauliflower, and cabbage. And a little-known fact is that some of the compounds
in cruciferous vegetables help to combat other estrogenic compounds in our food
supply and environment and can help prevent excess belly fat.
So eat up on that cauliflower!
Mushrooms
Not many people realize this, but
surprisingly, even white mushrooms have high levels of unique nutrients and
antioxidants. White mushrooms are high in a couple types of antioxidants called
polyphenols and ergothioneine. And some types of mushrooms, such as portobella
mushrooms, are surprisingly good sources of Vitamin D.
Potatoes
Now that also leads us to another
example - white potatoes (which by the way, can also be found in red, yellow,
purple varieties, etc). Many health professionals claim that potatoes are a bad
carbohydrate because they are thought to have a high glycemic index. First of
all, you need to understand that glycemic index is not necessarily the most
important factor in choosing your carbohydrates.
While a generalization can be made that
most low glycemic index carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easier
than high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it's cracked up to be.
There are many other factors that determine how your body will react-to and
process the carbohydrates you ingest, such as glycemic load and also how you
combine the high GI food with other foods.
For example, using glycemic load as an
example... it is known that watermelon has a high glycemic index.
However, the glycemic load of a normal serving of watermelon is just way too
low for your body to start packing on body fat just because you ate a high
glycemic index fruit. You would have to eat such an enormous quantity of
watermelon just to get enough grams of carbohydrates to have any negative
glycemic effect.
Not to mention that watermelon is also
a great source of vitamins, minerals, and lycopene. There's just no reason to
avoid it simply because it has a high GI. My point is... candy bars, cupcakes,
and donuts make you fat... NOT watermelons, carrots or potatoes...
French fries excluded of course.
Also, as I mentioned, food combinations
are important in how your body processes the carbohydrates and the associated
blood sugar and insulin response you receive. For example, if you mix a high
glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber, healthy fats, or even certain proteins,
many times the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down
considerably by the way you combined the food.
Alright, so back to my point that white
potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as long as you eat
them in the right form... with the entire skin, and please don't ruin them by
deep frying them into french fries either! French fries are one of the most
evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by
soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in the deep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.
Keep in mind that potatoes contain so
many vitamins and minerals that the list is way too long to even try. Also, as
long as you eat the skins, you get a decent shot of fiber too.
On the topic of potatoes not being so
bad after all, I don't remember where I saw this referenced, but I recently saw
a particular study that had participants eat something like 7-9 whole potatoes
per day for several weeks.
At the conclusion of the study, the
potato eaters had actually consistently lost weight! I did guess that the
reason the people lost weight is that they were probably so full from eating
all of those damn potatoes, that they actually consumed less calories than
normal! An average sized potato only has about 100-120 calories, and I can
surely imagine you'd be full constantly from eating 7-9 potatoes each day.
Of course, this does NOT mean that
french fries are ok to eat! Those will only make you fat, and the trans fat
will lead to an early death. Seriously... fries are one of the most deadly
foods in our food supply. Plus, deep fried potatoes build up dangerous acrylamides from the frying oil
reacting with the starch, and these compounds are carcinogenic.
Anyway, back to the 7-9 whole potatoes
per day... Now I would never recommend going to those extremes, but my point is
that an occasional potato is not going to hurt your efforts to get lean,
especially if you combine it with some other fibrous vegetables and maybe a
healthy fat and some protein. On that note, I have one of my favorite recipes
for you, using potatoes.
- Desired quantity of baby
potatoes (I like to use this mixture I found recently at a health food
store... it is a mixture of white, red, yellow, and purple baby potatoes)
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 or 2 onions
- a couple cloves of garlic,
finely chopped (or mashed garlic from a jar, organic preferably)
- 1 or 2 Tbsp extra virgin
olive oil and/or virgin coconut oil
- a little salt and pepper to
taste (I like using a sea salt instead of normal commercial salt)
Cut the baby potatoes into slightly
smaller pieces and place in a steamer until soft all the way through. Slice up
the peppers and onions into strips and add with the chopped garlic into a pan
with the olive oil. Cook the peppers, onions, and garlic until tender, and then
add the steamed baby potatoes. Stir it all together and serve. This is a
delicious and healthy side dish that goes great with chicken or red meat.
I hope you've enjoyed this little topic
today about potatoes, healthy carbohydrates, glycemic index, and my killer
healthy potato recipe idea!
http://www.flatbelly-now.com
