by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging
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 definately don't agree
with avoiding any and all "white carbohydrates". Now I know all of the
buzz lately has been about colorful foods and the protective
antioxidants that they contain. They tell you to focus on colors and
stay away from white.
"White Foods" aren't necessarily always the enemy
It's true that
colorful 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, if you've read
my Truth about Six Pack Abs ebook, then you 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 such as protein, fiber, and fats,
which all slow down absorption of the ingested carbs.
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, that it is
just non-sensical.
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. Again, I talk in detail about this entire topic in my Truth about Six Pack Abs book
Alright, so back to my point that white potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as
long as you eat them in the right form... 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.
One Warning though about potatoes:
Please note that potatoes do contain low level toxins called
glycoalkaloids (it's the plant's protection mechanism) that are
concentrated in the skin, so it is a good idea to always peel potatoes
before making any dishes with them. This article explains about the toxins in potatoes and how to still enjoy potatoes while minimizing the toxins.
Will 7-9 potatoes per day make you fatter?
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'd venture a 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.
Geary's Lean-Body Potato Side Dish
- 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)
I hope you've enjoyed this little topic today about potatoes, healthy carbohydrates, glycemic index, and my killer healthy potato recipe idea!
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