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, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
I'd like to start a little discussion today about carbohydrates...and in particular, "white foods" as well as potatoes. One reason Iwanted to mention this is because so many health and fitnessprofessionals trash talk potatoes about being a bad carbohydratechoice because of the high glycemic index. Some even say suchridiculous things as "avoid any and all white carbohydrates".Ok, now while I certainly agree that white bread and refinedwhite sugar are two of the worst things we can be feeding ourbodies, I definately don't agree with avoiding any and all "whitecarbohydrates". Now I know all of the buzz lately has been aboutcolorful foods and the protective antioxidants that they contain.They tell you to focus on colors and stay away from white.It's true that colorful foods are great, but it is a big mistake tospecifically avoid white foods! There are plenty of white foodsthat have specific nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. Let'slook at a few examples...
Onions & Garlic
What about onions and garlic? They are both white and they arechock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and traceminerals 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.
Cauliflower
Another example of something white that is great for you iscauliflower. Cauliflower is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, minerals,
and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates,which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such asbroccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. And a little-known fact is thatsome of the compounds in cruciferous vegetables help tocombat other estrogenic compounds in our food supply andenvironment and can help prevent excess belly fat. So eat up onthat cauliflower!
Mushrooms
Not many people realize this, but surprisingly, even whitemushrooms have high levels of unique nutrients andantioxidants. White mushrooms are high in a couple types of antioxidants called polyphenols and ergothioneine.
Potatoes
Now that also leads us to another example - white potatoes(which by the way, can also be found in red, yellow, purplevarieties, etc). Many health professionals claim that potatoes area bad carbohydrate because they are thought to have a highglycemic index. First of all, if you've read my
, then you understand that glycemic index is notnecessarily the most important factor in choosing yourcarbohydrates.While a generalization can be made that most low glycemicindex carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easierthan high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it's cracked upto be. There are many other factors that determine how yourbody will react-to and process the carbohydrates you ingest,such as glycemic load and also how you combine the high GIfood with other foods.
For example, using glycemic load as an example... it is knownthat watermelon has a high glycemic index. However, theglycemic load of a normal serving of watermelon is just way toolow for your body to start packing on body fat just because youate a high glycemic index fruit. You would have to eat such anenormous quantity of watermelon just to get enough grams of carbohydrates to have any negative glycemic effect, that it is justnon-sensical.Not to mention that watermelon is also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and lycopene. There's just no reason to avoidit simply because it has a high GI. My point is... candy bars,cupcakes, and donuts make you fat... NOT watermelons, carrotsor potatoes.Also, as i mentioned, food combinations are important in howyour body processes the carbohydrates and the associated bloodsugar and insulin response you receive. For example, if you mix ahigh glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber,healthy fats, or even certain proteins, many times the bloodsugar and glycemic response will be slowed down considerablyby the way you combined the food. Again, I talk in detail aboutthis entire topic in my
Truth about Six Pack Abs
bookAlright, so back to my point that white potatoes are actually ahealthy carbohydrate as long as you eat them in the right form...with the entire skin, and please don't ruin them by deep fryingthem into french fries either! French fries are one of the mostevil things ever invented for your health, but only because weruin them by soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in thedeep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.
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