21 April 2021

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Speaking of healthy diets, we should never miss out vegetables and fruits! As always, PhytoFairy has reminded us to take 5 portions of vegetable and fruit a day (2 portions of fruit and 3 portions of vegetable) in order to maintain a healthy body. Especially for those who long for slim figures and for people having an eating plan, vegetables undeniably take a huge part in our diet.

However, there will always be someone who doubtfully asks: “Why would my weight still remain the same even though I tried to increase my veggie intake?” There must be a reason to this. Now, make sure you eat the “correct” veggie instead of having a wrong idea about vegetables.


What you consider as “veggie”
Doesn’t necessarily belong to “vegetables”


Plants like potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkins, Chinese yams, corns and lotus roots, in fact, does not belong to vegetables. These foods are actually classified as whole grains in nutrition. In the food pyramid, it is considered as grains in the lowest part of the system.


Potatoes contain natural fats with no cholesterols and low in sodium contents, which is actually good for our health. Nowadays, many people love to include potatoes as their staple foods. It not only helps to fill our stomachs but also brings numerous nutrients. However, the starch in potatoes is the main reason why it is considered as grains.

The starch content in potatoes is around 17% whereas the starch content in steamed rice constitutes about 26%. In comparison, eating two spoons of potato is similar to having a spoon of rice. Therefore, while we are having potatoes, it is better if we reduce the intake of other staple foods and eat more greens.



As a matter of fact, with the reports shown by numerous scientific research, there aren’t any factual evidences proving potatoes lead to weight gain. Replacing rice with potatoes as our staple food can help control our weight, as potatoes have much lower calorie contents compared to white rice, besides being able to provide dietary fibers.

Whether potatoes will make us gain weight, it actually depends mostly on how we prepare our meals and our eating habits. While being cooked in high temperature, the nutrients in potatoes will be washed away and the resistant starch will cause a very strong oil adsorption capacity during the frying process. Thus, the calories in chips and crisps are very high.


These can replace some staple foods


People always mistook corns as vegetables but they are actually grains. Mature corn contains much higher starch contents, a corncob has a calorie content similar to that of a half bowl of rice. Besides that, lotus root and pumpkin commonly have a meticulous sweet taste, these kinds of food often contain starch. However, compared to tubers, their calorie levels are much lower.

It is acceptable to replace your previous staple meals with these foods but it is important to lay stress on the intake of your staple foods. It is easy to lose track of your starch intake if you are not being careful.

It doesn’t matter if these foods belong to vegetables or whole grains, they are natural and nutritious after all. As long as we take in moderately, combined with a much healthier and regular lifestyle, we will be able to master a healthy life.

Not only is food a great knowledge worth acquiring, but it is also vital to learn more about ingredients. Did this article help you learn a thing or two?