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Potatoes – Good or Evil?
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I'd like to start a little discussion today about
carbohydrates... and in particular, 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 colorful foods and the protective ant ioxidants 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 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...
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 eslewhere in a normal diet... such nutrients as allicin,
quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique
anti-inflammatory nutrients.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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 wei.ght! I'd venture a guess that the reason the people lost
we.ight 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.
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.
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