One of the most common things that you hear so-called weight-loss gurus preach about is the evils of white food. Don’t eat white potatoes, rice, bread, and you will lose weight. Some of these super smart scientists actually say that you should avoid all white foods, including vegetables such as cauliflower, onions and mushrooms. Give me a break!
Maybe back in the good old days, this advice might have made a little bit of sense but now we know that the color of the food really does not matter. It’s what’s inside the food. Yea sure many nutritionists will recommend that you eat a colorful plate of fruits and vegetables but that has less to do with the actual color of the fruit and more to do with the variety of these fruits and vegetables. The more color you have, the more variety you have, which means you get many different types of vitamins and minerals. The color doesn’t necessarily give the food its nutritional value. I think it’s about time we stop being racist towards our food and enjoy all the different types.
One of the reasons that people recommend avoiding white foods is because they think that they have been heavily processed and are void of all nutrition. This is just not true. Let’s look at the common potato, most nutritionists will have you believe that a normal white potato is very fattening while a sweet potato is a much better option.
Nope! Well, first of all, excess calories make you fat not any certain type of food and second, white potatoes actually have a whole host of nutritional benefits, a standard 250-gram potato has only 240 calories and an incredible 5 grams of healthy, stomach-filling fiber and a modest 5 grams of protein. Potatoes also have some essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B6 and C, copper, potassium, manganese and phosphorus.
I think that’s a pretty good ‘diet’ food, don’t you?
It’s time to stop demonizing white foods, how many times have you had a bowl of brown rice and faced some unwanted digestive issues? Switch to jasmine rice and all these go away. They are a great carb source and incredibly easy to digest by the body and they taste great! Don’t like the nutty bland flavor of whole-wheat bread? Switch to white bread. Just make sure you get your daily intake of fiber from other sources. Enjoy your food because if you don’t, you will fall off the wagon and reach for the closest junk food.
The only time I would caution against certain white foods is if you have any issues related to blood sugar. In that case, always consult your doctor.