What are good carbohydrates for a balanced diet?

by sydshahid

Dr Shahid has summarized his six principles of health in a very simple form. Simplicity sometimes is not politically correct. Well.. what is wrong if people get the message and decide to live until 100 - 125 years and longer, without ever having to see any health care provider of any kind.

Dr Shahid's First Principle of Preventive Holistic Lifestyle (PHL) is your diet. Your diet is your LIFE. What you eat as nutrition (balanced diet) becomes life. That is why it is so important to eat a balanced diet.

Carbohydrates are the most important part of the balanced diet after proteins and fats. (proteins and fats have been discussed in detail already).

We have discussed carbohydrates as well as its role in a balanced diet.

Most frequently asked question about carbohydrates is:

What are the foods that contain carbohydrates?

We have discussed already cereals (wheat, maize and rice) and a little history of cereals.

Let us now continue with other two very good carbohydrates for a balanced diet; pulses (lentils) and root crops.

2. Pulses (legumes)

Pulses are leguminous crops yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape and color within a pod, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Pulses are used for food and animal feed.

The term pulses, as used by the FAO, is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry grain. This excludes green beans and green peas, which are considered vegetable crops. Also excluded are crops that are mainly grown for oil extraction (oilseeds like soybeans and peanuts), and crops which are used exclusively for sowing (clovers, alfalfa).

Pulses are important food crops due to their high protein and essential amino acid content.
Other than Carbohydrate in the form of starch (polysaccharides), which constitutes 55 to 70%, pulses are 20 to 25% protein by weight, which is double the protein content of wheat and maize, and three times that of rice. For this reason, pulses are sometimes called "poor man’s meat". Pulses contain 2 to 5% fats as well.

FAO recognizes 11 primary pulses.

1. Dry beans are Kidney bean, (haricot bean, pinto bean, navy bean). Lima bean, (butter bean). Azuki bean, (adzuki bean). Mung bean, (golden gram, green gram). Black gram, (urad). Scarlet runner bean. Rice bean. Moth bean. Tepary bean.
2. Dry broad beans, Horse bean Broad bean Field bean.
3. Dry peas, (Garden pea, Protein pea).
4. Chickpea, (Garbanzo, Bengal gram).
5. Dry cowpea, (Black-eyed pea, blackeye bean).
6. Pigeon pea, (Toor, cajan pea, congo bean).
7. Lentil.
8. Bambara groundnut, (earth pea).
9. Vetch, common vetch.
10. Lupins.
11. Minor pulses include: (Lablab, hyacinth bean. Jack bean, sword bean. Winged bean.
Velvet bean, cowitch and Yam bean.

Lentils:

The lentil or daal or pulse is a bushy plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. The seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.

Mostly carbohydrate, little fat and with 26% protein, lentils have the highest level of protein in any plant after soybeans and hemp, and because of this it is a very important part of the diet in many parts of the world, especially in India, which has a large vegetarian population. Other countries include Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, many Mideastern and African countries.

lentils exists in almost any color that range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown and black. Red, white and yellow lentils are decorticated, i.e., they have their skins removed. One variety of yellow "lentils," Chana, is in fact made from the kernels of chickpeas. There are large and small varieties of many lentils (e.g., Masoor Lentils).

There are many vrieties of lentils. Most popular are:

Brown/Spanish Pardina, French Green/Puy (Dark speckled blue-green). Green, black/beluga green). Yellow/Tan Lentils (red inside). Red Chief (Decorticated yellow lentils). Eston Green (Small green). Richlea (Medium green). Laird (Large green).
Petite Golden (Decorticated lentils). Masoor (Brown-skinned lentils which are red inside). Pigeon Peas. Channa Dal. Moong Lentils. Petite Crimson/Red (Decorticated masoor lentils). Chana (Kernel of chickpeas). Urad (A type of bean). White/Ivory (Peeled Urad beans). And Macachiados (Big Mexican yellow lentils).

Nutritional value and health benefits of lentils

Apart from a high level of proteins and carbohydrates, lentils also contain dietary fiber, Folate, vitamin B1, and minerals. Red (or pink) lentils contain a lower concentration of fiber than green lentils (11% rather than 31%).

Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods. Lentils are often mixed with grains, such as rice, which results in a complete protein dish. Lentils are one of the best vegetable sources of iron. This makes them an important part of a vegetarian diet, and useful for preventing iron deficiency. Iron is particularly important for adolescents, and menstruating or pregnant women, whose requirements for it are increased.

3. Root Crops

Root crops are high in carbohydrates (mostly starch, a polysaccharide). There icreased value also lies in the fact that they can be stored for a while before being eaten. In general, root Crops store best at 32 degrees F and 95 percent relative humidity. Leave the Crops in the garden as long as weather permits, then dig and store in a root cellar, pit storage or refrigerated storage.

Following are few of the root crops:

Beets, Carrots, Celeriac. Horseradish. Jerusalem artichoke. Kohlrabi.
Parsnip. Radish. Rutabaga. Sweet Potato.Turnip. And quite a few more. Onion and garlic are sometimes classified under root crops. Onion and garlic are actually from bulb family, and should not be considered root crops). Root crops are made up of tubers in the roots and not bulbs. Therefore, onion and garlic are discussed under bulb vegetables.


Potatoes.

Potatoes are the best sourse of carbohydrates (starch) and are cultivated all over the world due to this unique quality.

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop vegetable. Potato is the world's most widely grown tuber crop, and the fourth largest food crop in terms of fresh produce after rice, wheat, and corn (maize).

Nutritionally, potatoes are best known for their carbohydrate (starch) content (approximately 26 grams in a medium potato). A small but significant portion of this starch in potato is resistant to digestion by enzymes in the stomach and small intestine, and so reaches the large intestine essentially intact. This resistant starch is considered to have similar physiological effects and health benefits as fiber: it provides bulk, offers protection against colon cancer, improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowers plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, increases satiety, and possibly even reduces fat storage. The amount of resistant starch in potatoes depends much on preparation methods. Cooking and then cooling potatoes significantly increases resistant starch. For example, cooked potato starch contains about 7% resistant starch, which increases to about 13% upon cooling.

Potatoes contain a number of important vitamins and minerals. A medium potato (150g/5.3 oz) with the skin provides 27 mg vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10% of DV) and trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. Moreover, the fiber content of a potato with skin (2 grams) equals that of many

In 2008, several international organizations began to give more emphasis to the potato as a key part of world food production, due to several developing economic problems. They cited the potato's potential for a beneficial role in world food production, owing to its status as a cheap and plentiful crop which can be raised in a wide variety of climates and locales.
In recognition of this importance, the United Nations officially declared the year 2008 as the International Year of the Potato in order to “increase awareness of the importance of the potato as a food in developing nations” and calling the vegetable a “hidden treasure”. This follows the International RiceYear in 2004.

Potatoes have been bred into many standard or well-known varieties, each of which have particular agricultural or culinary attributes. Varieties are generally categorized into a few main groups—such as russets, reds, whites, yellows (also called Yukons) and purples—based on common characteristics.

Next we shall discuss another most important carbohydrates; vegetables and fruits.

For question and comment please write to:

syedshahidmd@yahoo.com.au

Posted 11/2/2008 1:07:38 AM
About the Author



Syed Shahid MD
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Perth,  WA

Interests: Dr Sydney Shahid has many interests. He ejoys reading scietific magazines. He likes to keep himself busy with latest medical researches. He has special interest in Alzheimer’s illness. he has strong evidence that this tragedy can be delayed (if not prevented) for as long as 25 - 30 years and even longer, if one follows Dr Shahid’d six principles of health faithfully. He likes to make friends with those who have similar interests as his. He has few friends and they all appreciate what he is doing for humanity. He believes in positive thinking. In his opinion one must pursue those interests which make one believe in oneself. He loves to play tennis, table tennis and cricket if he can find time. Travelling is his other interest. He has travelled all over the world. He enjoys different cultures and their varied way of life. Lately world politics has become his passion. He wishes to see peace in the world but he doesn’t think it is possible because of the greed in the mind of most of the industrialised nations who are exploiting third world countries. He is also interested in writing a book about his Six Principle of Health (EUREKA). He is already in the process of making it happen. He wants the whole world to know his secret of healthy long life.

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