2023-07-25 16:12:37
Starches are essential to our health to fill up on energy and to balance our diet. A dietitian nutritionist helps us identify which ones are to be preferred.
Rice, pasta, bread… starches suffer from a very bad reputation, wrongly. Nathalie Majcher (1), dietitian nutritionist and creator of the blog DoctorGoodFood, nevertheless assures him: “Starchy foods are mainly made up of carbohydrates, which makes them our main source of energy. They also provide us with minerals, fibers, proteins and vitamins. Eliminating them from our diet would be a very serious mistake”. It remains to know which ones to choose to compose a healthy plate.
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Whole rice and pasta
For starters, it would be better to focus on unprocessed starchy foods. “The white rice and the flour of the classic pasta are refined, that is to say that the outer layer which envelops the cereal grains has been removed to whiten them, explains the professional. Conversely, brown wheat and rice are left raw, almost as they are found in nature”. This makes it a much richer source of fibre, vitamins, and nutrients such as magnesium (anti-fatigue) and potassium (essential for cardiovascular health). They are also more satiating, which limits snacking outside meals.
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Wholemeal or seed bread
Bread made from wholemeal flour is also to be preferred according to the specialist: “as with rice and pasta, it is more satisfying and more nutritious”. It also invites you to alternate with seed breads, sources of fibre, protein and “good fats”. Not to mention that bakery bread is always preferable to industrial bread, which is often made with additives and refined sugar.
sweet potatoes
They have several advantages. Rich in antioxidants, they help protect the body from free radicals, responsible for cell aging. “Their glycemic index is also relatively low and lower than that of potatoes, underlines Nathalie Majcher. This limits the production of insulin, the hormone that facilitates fat storage. They are also less caloric than potatoes (62.8 kcal against 89.4 kcal per 100 grams of each product), although this indicator is not the most telling.
Why the calories of a food are an indicator of little use in nutrition
According to dietician and nutritionist Nathalie Majcher, the notion of calories is futile. Many foods are very caloric and yet very interesting from a nutritional point of view (foods rich in protein, brown rice or quinoa, for example), and vice versa. A person’s calorie needs also vary from day to day depending on their physical activity, or even their level of fatigue. This is why the professional invites you to listen to your feelings of hunger and satiety, rather than counting the number of calories you ingest.
Lentils and chickpeas
Often overlooked, some legumes turn out to be starchy foods that are very beneficial to the body. Lentils in particular are rich in plant iron, an element that helps prevent and treat anemia. To be consumed with a squeeze of lemon (or other citrus fruit) to facilitate the absorption of iron by the body. Chickpeas also have a high protein content (around 10%, according to the dietician). “These products also have the merit of being inexpensive compared to other sources of protein such as meat,” adds Nathalie Majcher.
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Quinoa, spelled and millet
These three starches are very interesting for the body thanks to their high protein content (around 15%, according to Nathalie Majcher) and fiber. “This makes it possible to reach satiety more quickly and therefore to consume smaller quantities”, specifies the dietician. Their glycemic index is also moderate.
Vary the pleasures
Finally, the nutritionist recommends alternating between all these different sources of starch to benefit from their nutritional benefits. Be careful though, “one starch per meal is enough, says Nathalie Majcher. If we already have lentils on our plate, for example, there is no need to provide extra bread”. To do well, the amount of starchy foods we consume should correspond to about a third of our plate. That being said, there is no need to calculate everything at mealtime. “The ideal is to listen to each other, underlines the professional. If we feel particularly tired after meals, it probably means that our body is producing a lot of insulin to regulate our blood sugar levels. We therefore have an interest in reducing our consumption of starchy foods.
(1) My food rebalancing diary by Nathalie Majcher, published by Larousse, 424 pages, €14.95.
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