While fruits and veggies definitely aren't bad for you, the high starch ones (like corn or potatoes) could lead to weight gain, says new research.
By Macaela Mackenzie, Shape
Fruits and veggies are super important for healthy, fit bodies—but not all vegetables are created equal. In fact, certain veggies high in starch are actually associate with weight gain, according to a study in PLOS Medicine.
[post_ads]Researchers from Harvard and Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston looked at the specific produce people ate over 24 years as well as how much weight that person gained or loss. Predictably, researchers found that with most fruits and veggies, the more you eat, the more benefits they deliver. In fact, each extra daily serving of fruits or non starchy vegetables led to an average loss of half a pound over four years. While that's not exactly scale shattering, the surprise came with what produce had the opposite effect.
While the results showed that most fruits and veggies have a waistline trimming effect, starchy vegetables can actually cause you to pack on the pounds. Participants who added an extra serving of the starchy stuff to their diets added an average of a pound and a half for each extra serving over four years—yikes!
According to government guidelines, the average woman should be getting four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit each day. So, listen to mom and get your daily dose of fruits and veggies—just choose wisely. If you're adding in extras to reap the waist trimming benefits, make sure you stick to non starchy snacks like lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach and stay away from the starchy stuff.
Fruits and veggies are super important for healthy, fit bodies—but not all vegetables are created equal. In fact, certain veggies high in starch are actually associate with weight gain, according to a study in PLOS Medicine.
[post_ads]Researchers from Harvard and Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston looked at the specific produce people ate over 24 years as well as how much weight that person gained or loss. Predictably, researchers found that with most fruits and veggies, the more you eat, the more benefits they deliver. In fact, each extra daily serving of fruits or non starchy vegetables led to an average loss of half a pound over four years. While that's not exactly scale shattering, the surprise came with what produce had the opposite effect.
While the results showed that most fruits and veggies have a waistline trimming effect, starchy vegetables can actually cause you to pack on the pounds. Participants who added an extra serving of the starchy stuff to their diets added an average of a pound and a half for each extra serving over four years—yikes!
According to government guidelines, the average woman should be getting four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit each day. So, listen to mom and get your daily dose of fruits and veggies—just choose wisely. If you're adding in extras to reap the waist trimming benefits, make sure you stick to non starchy snacks like lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach and stay away from the starchy stuff.
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