PEAS ARE A HEALTHY VEGETABLE

Yes, peas are a starchy vegetable, but they are a healthy vegetable as peas are a resistant starch*. All varieties of peas are good sources of fiber, vitamin C and a surprisingly amount of protein. Include peas in soups, salads, skillet meals, etc. You do not have to have them as the main dish to get the benefits. Even diabetics should include fresh or frozen peas in their diets.

English Peas

*If you aren't familiar with resistant starch there is information on this blog about them.

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FOODS (CARBS) HIGHEST IN RESISTANT STARCH

A couple days ago I mentioned some of the foods that are high in Resistant Starch (RS). Below is a list of some of the foods highest in RS. Try to eat some RS foods at every meal when possible or at least a couple meals a day.

This list starts with the foods highest in RS and goes down accordingly.

• Bananas (note: buy your bananas as green as you can eat them for the most RS. A mostly green banana medium-size, approximately 7 to 8-inches, has 12.5 grams of RS while a ripe banana of the same size has 4.7 grams.) Can't stand greenish bananas? That's okay. The ripe banana still has more RS than other foods.
• Oatmeal ( 1/2 cup uncooked, toasted, comes in right under the ripe banana with 4.6 grams)
• White beans, (1/2 cup has 3.8 grams - the highest of all the beans)
• Lentils (1/2 cup has 3.4 grams)
• Potatoes (Surprised? Yes, one small cooked potato has 3.2 grams!)
• Garbanzo beans (1/2 cup has 2.1 grams)
• Whole-wheat pasta (1 cup cooked has 2.0 grams)
• Brown rice (1/2 cup cooked has 1.7 grams)
• Pumpernickel bread (1-oz slice has 1.3 grams)

This is a very small list of RS foods. But you have probably gotten the idea that some of the carbs you are afraid to eat are actually what you should be eating. As with any food, you should not go overboard but you should include resistant starch foods in your daily diet.

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RESISTANT STARCH FOODS

Note: This is a repost from my blog in 

September 2021. You can find resistant starch list in the index to the right, if you want to know more about them. A few days ago, t posted about carbs and dieting. I promised more about carbs so here is a follow-up. Have you ever heard of resistant starch foods? Possibly not. As with most things, there are carbs that are good for you and carbs that aren't so good for you. Think cookies, doughnuts, bagels, etc. These are not carbs you should be stuffing yourself with! Such carbs will not have a positive effect on your body! But there are RS foods (resistant starch foods), carbs, that you should be eating that will help you lose weight, keep weight off, control blood sugar, lower cholesterol and triglycerides, etc.

Resistant Starch may sound like a strange name but the name comes from the fact that RS foods resists digestion. RS doesn't get absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine like other foods therefore creating a chain reaction in the body that literally shrinks fat cells, preserves muscle and stokes metabolism. Yes, there are some foods that we don't want to be fully digested and absorbed into the body. We need foods that pass through our digestive system taking unwanted toxins, etc with them. Fiber is a good example. Fiber is important for passing through the digestive system and causing it to work properly. Think of RS foods in a similar manner.

You may be wondering if RS foods are exotic, expensive, etc. Good news! They are neither and you probably have them in your pantry right now. Some of the carbs highest in resistant starch are bananas, oatmeal, beans, even potatoes. Start eating resistant carbs at every meal and you will be surprised how quickly you will see your belly bloat disappear, start having more energy, drop some weight, etc.

More to follow in the next post.

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RESISTANT STARCH CARBS TO PREVENT FATTY LIVER

A study in the journal Cell Metabolism found that the study subjects who at carbs with resistant starch, significantly reduced liver fat. They found that resistant starch feeds bacteria in the large intestine that reduce liver fat and tame inflammation linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. They suggest we add a serving of a food with resistant starch to our meals. Where do we get resistant starch? It is found in whole-wheat pasta, oats, beans, rice and nuts. I believe this study. Years ago, I had a non-alcoholic fatty liver. After becoming diabetic, I got rid of all refined grains and turned to whole-wheat bread, pastas, etc. My fatty liver disappeared. In my routine blood work several times a year, my liver is fine.

file photo whole-wheat pasta