ExRx.net

All should read this. It might cut down on a lot of questions. Stu posted this last week, I cut and pasted it. I'm just adding in a little on the legumes on the end of it

Quote
Fibrous veg is the best source of nutrients and the are relatively low on calories and high in fiber. These would be all the green and colourful veg. Regardless of your diet you can and should eat as many of these vegetables as you want without restriction. Some even burn more calories than they provide. These are even better when eaten raw.

What's not included are potatoes, sweet potatoes, legumes and corn. (Corn is actually a grain) These are higher in calories and would be better in bulking diets. Grains should be treated similarly as they are less nutrient dense and higher calories. The additional issue with grains is over processing. You should avoid any white grains (white flour, sugar, white rice) except for post workout. Grains should always be cooked.

Fruits are healthy but some are concerned in the amount of sugar in them. These should also be eaten in moderation.

Stu
End Quote

I agree wholeheartedly, and have his permission to Sticky this. Its a very short, sweet and simple guideline. Only one thing I'd like to add. The legumes. They are a starch, but they are also different in the fact that they have a gumm fibrous type of material in them. Great for fiber, but like the grains and potato starch, etc, they are fairly calorie dense. I treat these as I would a grain, I just serve them in moderation. Just as a for instance, I love a barley / lentil mix, I just hardly ever use over a 1/4 to 1/3 cup serving (thats cooked).

Just posted this to cut down on confusion and it is a Frequently Asked Question

Tim

Where does something like acorn squash, kabocha (Japanese squash), or pumpkin fit into this? As far as I know the skin on pumpkins is a good source of insoluable fiber but I know they also have lots of carbs. Are these in the sweet potato/potato/grains group or in the colorful veg group? I'm assuming they are in the former, with a high GI but I can't seem to find a good food guide that lists that. Nor one that lists servings by weight and not just "one squash."

Sorry to follow up on a sticky, but my question is directly related to it.

Peter

Sorry, didn't see this come in. There are at least 2 types of squash that I know of, and have no idea of the botanical view of why they are all grouped as squash. the summer types: i.e. patty-pan (usually pale green, look like a flying saucer), zuchini, and the yellow crook - neck treat as colorful veg. Most gourd types (fall/winter), i.e. pumpins , acorn, spaghetti are starchy. If in doubt, just look them up in a nutritional beakdown counter. Still good stuff, just be aware they are calorie and starch dense.
As to the serving sizes, that bothers me too. Last thing I want to do is cut something up and stick in on a scale. Same thing with a lot of the fruits. Apples come in very small all the way up to very large, and I hatre it when they list it as 1 apple. I have to assume thats medium.
For the summer squash, it really doesn't matter, for the winter it would, and I don't know off the top of my head. You might want to try fitday.com. I've seen that site referenced a lot on the nutrition forum over at crossfit.
Tim

Winter squash, which is what Pete is talking about, and includes pumpkin, has 80 cal/cup. Summer squash (zucchini type) only has 36 cal/cup.

Sweet potato has 95 cal/each (which I assume is about 150 cal/cup) Potatoes have 133 cal/cup, so winter squash is close. I don't know why they can't use a common serving size.

Anyway, Tom Venuto puts squash in the fibrous category rather than the starchy category. I suppose it's more like a continuum rather than either/or.

I use http://whfoods.org/

Yes, it's winter squash. The whfoods link is great, it turned up this:

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nu ... e&dbid=134

That's exactly the kind of information (and weight information!) I needed. Thanks.

Here's an important post about how many carbs are needed.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-prim ... continuum/

Dr. Kurt Harris has a good post about carbs as part of his series about macronutrients. Most carbs can simply be regarded as fuel in a healthy person but fructose is currently being consumed in amounts far beyond what we've evolved to handle and this may be partly responsible for the current obiesity epidemic.

http://www.paleonu.com/panu-weblog/2011 ... rates.html

Thanks for the website link. Actually I was confused about what to have in breakfast as i am a working women. Nutritive food is a must but which food will provide good energy was a question in my mind. But after going through this link all my queries are solved. Thanks

why listed me as a Spammer????

Everyone is assumed to be a spammer until proven otherwise. Welcome to the forum.

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

Yes, unconfirmed spammer is the first rank, and the rank picture for it does say spammer. Do not worry, if we thought you were a spammer, you would have found yourself unable to access the forum again shortly after your first post. So we know you aren't a spammer, and you will soon move up to the next rank.

"Some even burn more calories than they provide"

Any links to more on this? I've read everywhere this is a myth so I dont know what to think.

Also, new poster.

This is an old topic but it does need to be answered. It appears that this is a myth that has since been disproven. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_calorie_food

There are lots of sites that claim that negative calorie foods exist. http://www.drkaslow.com/html/catabolic_foods.html

This is discussed at great length here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ANeg ... lorie_food

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD

Vegs., especially green s/be eaten as much as possible. Agreed. I also think that legumes, i.e., lentils s/be eaten in place of other starch/grains (as much as possible), a.e., rice, potatoes, etc. because of the high protein content. Lentils have a very healthy amount of protein. Eat them up. They are delicious with a mire poix mixture, which is diced carrots, diced celery and diced onion--cooked, of course. Just yummy.

Much like broccoli, lentils have twice as many carbs as protein so it's not really a high protein content. Some people have issues with legumes. Even soaked, and all beans should be soaked before being consumed, beans are usually mal-absorbed in the small intestine and ferment in the large intestine. This can create gas, but more dangerously the lectins they include can contribute to leaky gut which can contribute to a host of issues including auto-immune diseases. Yes, in moderation, beans can provide energy and some protein but they need to be carefully considered first. Broccoli will provide the same benefits as lentils with less risk, although you need higher volumes due to the water content.

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD