Potatoes and "White Foods" – Do They Help Or Hinder Belly Fat Loss?

You hear a lot about the glycemic index and how white potatoes are not only unhealthy but also cause weight gain. In fact many so-called nutritional experts warn you to avoid white foods.

Hmm. Not all white food are unhealthy.

Sure, white flour and white sugar are two of the most unhealthy things I really prefer not to call them food since they do more robbing your body of nutrition than feeding you) on the planet. Avoid them at all costs.

However, there are many white foods that boost your health and well being and can be an important part of any beneficial diet. Those foods include obvious things like onions and garlic, cauliflower and jicama, to name a few.

While popular articles and books tell you that more color on your plate means more anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, etc., the fact is that white vegetables also provide important and significant health benefits.

I personally experienced how quickly garlic lowers blood pressure. I actually have to monitor my intake of that tasty herb as it can cause my blood pressure to plummet! But garlic and onions also offer phyto-nutrients, vitamins and trace minerals (your body needs minerals to absorb vitamins AND it also needs fats to assimilate fat-soluble vitamins).

Some of the most beneficial nutrients found in garlic and onions include allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients. (Silent inflammation causes most diseases and conditions)

Cauliflower provides vitamin C, fiber, minerals, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates. Those compounds, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, help counter estrogenic chemicals abundant in our food supply and environment. That action can help prevent excess belly fat. Does cauliflower suddenly taste better to you!

White mushrooms, surprisingly, have high levels of unique nutrients and antioxidants including high amounts of two specific antioxidants: polyphenols and ergothioneine.

White tea is purported to contain more anti-oxidants than green tea.

And now we get to the most controversial of the white foods – potatoes. (This discussion focuses on white potatoes. Realize I mean white potatoes as opposed to sweet potatoes. You see the nutritional factors present in white potatoes carry across to yellow blue, red and purple potatoes).

The controversy stems from the listing of white potatoes as high glycemic food. The fact is that a high glycemic index is not the sole factor in determining a foods virtue or unhealthfulness.

Many factors determine how your body will react to and process the carbohydrates you ingest. Glyceminc load is one factor. Another very significant factor is how much and how you eat that high glyceminc index food, i.e., combined with other foods.

Some foods must be eaten in such large quantities to meet the reported high glyceminc index number that no human would ever eat that amount voluntarily.

Food combining is not a new science. The combinations of foods that you eat together impacts how you process what you eat. If you always eat a high glycemic index food with a high fiber, healthy fat and even some varieties of protein (not animal products) often the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down so you do not suffer any ill effects.

That said, if you plan to eat potatoes never fry them. Always eat them with the peel (many vitamins and fiber are in the peel) and avoid eating them with animal protein. Potatoes contain many vitamins and minerals.

Potatoes and "White Foods" – Do They Help Or Hinder Belly Fat Loss? by Ali Bierman