Potatoes, Glycemic Index, and "White Foods" - Friend
or Foe for a Lean-Body?
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.
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.
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.
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 book, 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.
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. 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... 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'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.
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
- 1 or 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive 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
potato recipe idea!
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