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Health Benefits & Use of Vegetables

8 CQ

In this lesson, learn about the health and nutrition benefits of vegetables, the different groups of vegetables, and how to use them in meals.

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    4 Comments
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    Su K
    Hi. I am really enjoying your whole foods series. I was wondering if you could elaborate on starchy vegetables (peas, potatoes, etc.) b/c I've always been told that it's best to limit those b/c of their high carb content (in the form of starch) and that it's better to eat veggies with higher water content (i.e. cucumbers, tomatoes, greens, etc.) Thank you for the clarification.
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    Curious .
    Great question Su and thank you for your feedback. Whole, natural starchy foods are amongst the healthiest foods for us. Starch -> complex carbs, which breakdown into glucose, is our body's optimal fuel source. Unfortunately in the midst of various fad diets over the last few decades, starchy vegetables and carbohydrates as a nutrient group became vilified. Whole plant foods that are rich in starch, and ones rich in water are both needed and beneficial. The latter won't provide enough energy...
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    Curious .
    ...However, the problem is with REFINED carbohydrates. This means all of the various flour products in our society like the processed breads, cakes, pizzas, cookies, crackers, pastas, cereals, and such, as well as the fried versions of healthy, natural foods (i.e. chips, french fries, etc.) For more info to understand the value of starch as part of optimal eating, I invite you to also look into the work of Dr. John McDougall.
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    Curious .
    Another way to understand the importance of starch is to use the car-gasoline analogy. We know what gasoline must be put into our cars and wouldn't dream of putting in another type of "oil". A similar scenario exists for our body: carbohydrates from whole, plant foods are the optimal fuel for our body, which naturally and in a balanced way break down to glucose. If we are not getting our fuel here, we have to go to fat or protein, neither of which is optimal as main fuel or for sustained time.
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