Fruit and vegetable intake for good health
Did you know that more than 80% of Australians are not reaching their daily fruit and vegetable intake needs each day? Australian government health guidelines recommend adults consume a minimum of 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables per day. I will share links below for your information.
Fruit and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre which are needed to maintain optimal health and provide protection against chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Insufficient dietary fibre can lead to poor gut health with can lead to low energy, foggy thinking, poor immune system health and poor overall health. Daily dietary fibre recommendations are 25g/day for women and 30g/day for men. In order to hit these targets, it is necessary to consume a mainly whole-food diet filled with plants.
Low starch vs high starch
I wanted to talk in this post about the difference between low-starch carbohydrates and high-starch carbohydrates because I know there is a lot of confusion about 'healthy' vegetables vs 'unhealthy' vegetables. A lot of this confusion stems from the 'low-carb' and Atkins movement which demonises higher-starch carbohydrates in favour of their low-starch counterparts, so I wanted to set the record straight. Firstly let's get this straight - there are NO 'unhealthy' vegetables. Some vegetables provide more carbohydrates than other vegetables but this does not make them 'bad'. OK, I'm glad I got that off my chest.
Let's talk about 'low-starch' carbohydrates
Low-starch carbohydrates are lower in total carbohydrates than 'high or intermediate starch carbohydrates. This means that you can eat a LOT more low-starch vegetables without adding lots of calories to your plate. Low starch vegetables are popular in weight-loss diets because they fill your plate and tummy but don't take a big chunk out of your energy (calorie) budget for the day. They are also a great source of fibre and nutrients making them an excellent source of nutrition for individuals who are cutting their food intake with the aim of losing weight.
Weight loss
In order to lose weight, it is necessary to reduce the total amount of energy (calories) we eat so that our body is forced into using stored energy in the form of body fat, to fuel activities and bodily functions. While following a weight-loss diet, it becomes even more important to ensure that we eat a highly nutritious diet. If we fail to do this and instead rely on processed protein bars and shakes, we place ourselves at risk of nutrient deficiencies, poor gut health and generally feeling like garbage. Wanting to lose weight for health reasons is a good choice, but eating in the right way and learning skills to maintain this way of eating is the solution, not quick fix shakes and bars made from fake sugars, processed proteins and fibre supplements.
High starch carbohydrates
Low starch vegetables play an important role in providing good quality nutrition when wanting to lose weight, but this does not mean that higher starch vegetables need to be eliminated. Yes, higher starch vegetables have more calories but they still provide beneficial vitamins minerals and fibre to your diet. If you are a highly active individual, higher starch carbohydrates can play an important role in your recovery after exercise. It is absolutely possible to lose weight and eat higher starch vegetables, but portion control and timing are important to avoid weight gain.
Conclusion
If you want to lose weight, fill your plate with lots of low-starch carbohydrates. They are filling, low in calories and provide your body with the vitamins, minerals and fibre it needs to thrive. If you want to lose weight and perform high intensity or long duration sports, higher starch vegetables can be helpful for recovery when strategically placed around training. If you do not perform high intensity or long duration sports and you enjoy potatoes etc, aim for very small portions of higher starch vegetables alongside larger servings of low-starch vegetables, keeping in mind that you must remain in a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight.
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