After adjusting for self-reported changes in other lifestyle factors such as smoking status and physical activity, an increased intake of fruits and of several vegetables was found to be inversely associated with weight gain.
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According to a new study by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health fruits such as berries and pears and veggies that are not rich in starch should be a staple for a faster and easier weight loss.
They were looking for any associations between changes in the ingestion of certain fruits and vegetables and weight change.
When admonished to eat more fruits and vegetables, we sometimes let our inner child dictate the menu.
Weight reduction advantages that accompanied expanding your utilization connected more so to natural products than to vegetables, and were most strikingly seen with berries, apples and pears, tofu and soy, cauliflower and cruciferous and green, verdant vegetables.
There’s also a more simple explanation, Alissa Rumsey, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells Yahoo Health: Starchier vegetables typically contain more calories than those that aren’t starchy.
“Although the magnitude of weight change associated with each increased daily serving was modest, combining an increase of one to two servings of vegetables and one to two servings of fruits daily would be associated with substantial weight change”, researcher Monica Bertoia wrote in PLOS Medicine journal. Therefore, “nutritional guidelines ought to emphasize individual or subgroups of specific fruits and vegetables that maximize the potential for weight maintenance and disease prevention”, they said. But satisfying our vegetable requirements with starchy vegetables, alas, will not keep the pounds from adding up.
The researchers reported a weight loss of half a kilogram for those who ate an extra handful of blueberries for four years. Accardi also advises eating starchy vegetables in moderation if you’re trying to manage your weight. Every extra portion of fruit eaten a day led to nearly half a pound being shed over the four year period. But a series of other advantages, the scientists say, might be a lot simpler: When people increase their intake of these fruits and vegetables, they generally eat meals that are even denser in fats and calorie percentage, such as gooey candies and fat meats.
But starchy vegetables like peas and potatoes actually caused a gain in weight. However, it’s possible that people who ate healthy foods also practiced other healthy behaviors that they study did not account for.
The authors noted that the findings of the study-based on non-representative participants, who are mostly educated white adults-are still not conclusive.
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