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Potatoes and “white foods”: do they help or hinder the loss of abdominal fat?

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 nutrition experts advise you to avoid white foods.

Hmm. Not all white foods 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 rob your body of more nutrition than they feed you) on the planet. Avoid them at all costs.

However, there are many white foods that enhance your health and wellness and can be an important part of any beneficial diet. Those foods include the 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 antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, etc., the fact is that white vegetables also provide important and significant health benefits.

I have personally experienced how quickly garlic lowers blood pressure. In fact, I have to watch my intake of that tasty herb as it can cause my blood pressure to plummet! But garlic and onions also offer phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace elements (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 like glucosinolates and thiocyanates. Those compounds, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, help counteract estrogenic chemicals abundant in our food supply and environment. That action can help prevent excess abdominal fat. Cauliflower suddenly tastes 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 supposed to contain more antioxidants than green tea.

And now we come to the most controversial of white foods: potatoes. (This discussion focuses on white potatoes. Note that I am referring to white potatoes rather than sweet potatoes. You will see that the nutritional factors present in white potatoes carry over to yellow, blue, red, and purple potatoes.)

Controversy stems from the listing of white potatoes as high-glycemic index foods. The fact is that a high glycemic index is not the only factor that determines the goodness or unhealthiness of a food.

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

Some foods must be eaten in such large amounts to meet the reported high glycemic index that no human would willingly eat that amount.

Food combining is not a new science. The combinations of foods you eat together affect how you process what you eat. If you always eat a high-glycemic index food that is high in fiber, healthy fats, and even some varieties of protein (not animal products), often your blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down so that you are not affected harmful.

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