Let’s get down to the carbohydrate truth about whether or not potatoes are a friend or a foe when it comes to fat loss!

Potatoes are categorized in the “white food” group.  Many health professions and fitness experts warn and admonish to avoid any of the “white” carbohydrates.  Sugar would be one of them, as would be white bread, and both are one of the worst things you can put in your body. Instead, choose to fuel your body with nutrition with colorful foods that come packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

So, are ALL white foods the enemy?

potatoes healthy white by flickr lindstormORG

It’s true that colorful foods are great, but it is a big mistake to specifically avoid ALL white foods! Let me give you a few examples of white foods that have plenty of nutrients and come highly recommended.

Onions & Garlic

Surprise! Onions and garlic are white foods that are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace minerals that aren’t easy to find elsewhere in a normal diet:

  • Allicin
  • Quercetin (an important flavonoid)
  • Chromium
  • Other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients

The powerful properties of an onion are what have kept centenarians (those over 100) young! One study identified onions as the common thread of amazingly healthy individuals with long life. In fact, they ate A LOT of onion, which create a strong immune system – among other health benefits.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower, another white food, 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.  If you are looking to get lean, these compounds found in cruciferous vegetables counteract the estrogenic compounds that are so commonly found in our modern day food supply and environment that cause belly fat.  The short and sweet of it is cauliflower can prevent excess belly fat! That is a white food I can life with – or eat, for that matter!

Mushrooms

While mushrooms may get a bad rap, they are surprisingly high in unique nutrients and antioxidants, such as polyphenols and ergothioneine.  Portobella mushrooms are surprisingly good sources of vitamin D.

Potatoes

onion white by flickr joellevandHere we go – white potatoes! Oh yea, there are also red, yellow, and purple potatoes, too! Now, some health professionals reduce potatoes to a bad source of carbohydrates 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, there is more to learn. Carbohydrates are digested with other factors involved, such as combining with high glycemic index foods and considering the glycemic load.

For example, watermelon is considered to have a high glycemic load. But let me explain.

  • 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.

You would be crazy not eat watermelon because it is a tremendous source of vitamins, minerals and lycopene and avoid it because it has a high glycemic index.

Hear me out: candy bars, cupcakes, and donuts make you fat… NOT watermelons, carrots or potatoes… French fries excluded, of course.

Also, as I mentioned, the complex variety of foods can determine how your body processes carbohydrates.  Specific food combinations can affect blood sugar and insulin levels.

For example, combining high glycemic foods with healthy fat, fiber or protein can slow down the blood sugar response. I reveal more about carbohydrates and food pairing in my Truth about Six Pack Abs book.

This leads me to answering the question, are potatoes a healthy carbohydrate?  They are if you eat them with the skin on! Don’t corrupt what is already healthy and naturally good by frying potatoes and turning them into french fries! French fries are one of the most evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by soaking cialis order 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.

Will 7-9 potatoes per day make you fatter?

So, potatoes are a healthy choice to add to your diet.  But, what about eating 7-9 whole potatoes a day? I actually saw a particular study on this!

At the conclusion of the study where people ate large quantities of potatoes per day for an entire week, the participants had actually lost weight! I would go so far as to guess that the people lost weight because they were full from eating so many potatoes that they didn’t eat much else.  With an average potato having

only 100-120 calories, they fill you up so you can consume less calories than normal!

Let me state again that french fries do not make it on the healthy food list! They will only make you fat, and the trans fat will lead to an early death. Plus, deep fried potatoes build up dangerous acrylamides from the frying oil reacting with the starch and these compounds are carcinogenic.

Now, I would never recommend eating large quantities of potatoes, but an occasional potato is not going to break your belt. Combine a healthy potato with vegetables for added fiber or some healthy fat and protein and you have a very nutritious meal!

Here is one of my favorite potato recipes to help you get lean.

Geary’s Lean-Body Potato Side Dish

  • potatoes recipe by flickr sporkistPotatoes – white, red, yellow or purple (desired amount according to your specifications)
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 or 2 onions
  • Garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 or 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and/or virgin coconut oil
  • Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into 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 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 “white food” potatoes, healthy carbohydrates, glycemic index, and my killer healthy lean-body potato recipe idea!

 

   <—- Interesting video

Sincerely,

Mike Geary
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Co-author – The Fat Burning Kitchen:  Your 24-Hour Diet Transformation to Make Your Body a Fat-Burning Machine

 

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