Eating fruit and vegetables won’t help you lose weight (but they are sort of good for you)

But Mr Nutritionist, you are talking fruit and vegetables-they just have to be good for you right?!

Why?

Is it because ‘we’ve always eaten them’?

Fruit especially has changed over the years to become more like confectionary than a ‘healthy food’.
 

So if they are saying no to primates eating all the fruit-why are being told to eat so much of it?

I think the most important thing is they need to stop lumping together fruit and vegetables (and almost have a separate list for starchy veggies).

Its almost like lumping together all the movies for kids and not having a rating system. So an ‘R or X’ rating would be the same as a ‘G’ rating.   

So firstly, I’d like to lump most fruit (except the berry family) in with starchy veggies like potato, carrots, sweet potato, corn, peas, beetroot, pumpkin and parsnip.

They are nearly all made up of chains of sugars or starch, or in the case of fruit, they are mostly all glucose, fructose, fibre and water.

Yes, they are better than a soft drink or some white bread but too much starch is simply converted to sugar and the fructose in fruit may worsen fatty liver, diabetes, weight gain and blood pressure

Both fruit and vegetables do contain a healthy ‘pinch’ of ‘goodness’ like Vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium and good plant chemicals (phytochemicals)-but is enough to undo the damage that you have caused your body by eating too many biscuits, cakes, wines/beers, and snacks?

I don’t think it is.

Having a few nutrients can only do so much, in regards to putting out those ‘raging forest fires’ of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in your body.

Fibre is the same-yes it has some benefit but if you are getting your fibre from eating cereal, brown bread and rice than you are actually throwing more petrol on the fire in the way of extra carbohydrates (that end up just increasing your weight/blood sugar).

I think the safety bet is to stick with the non-starchy vegetables.

And what are they Mr Nutritionist?

They are almost every veggie that isn’t sweet, starchy, like the ones I’ve listed above.

Simply, if they are below ground (nil or caution) and above ground, then go for your life.

It really is in the same vein of eating copious amounts of cheese, nuts, dark chocolate or snacking on so-called ‘healthy foods’ like muesli bars-the key is to NOT snack and NOT eat at all between meals to help lose weight, reduce inflammation, reduce blood sugars/insulin levels and digestive disorders by allowing the body to ‘just turn off’. 

The best research paper that looked at all the evidence of eating more fruit and veggies found: 

“On the basis of the current evidence, recommending increased F/V consumption to treat or prevent obesity without explicitly combining this approach with efforts to reduce intake of other energy sources is unwarranted”

Just a couple of things before I let you go.

Are you looking for a great Brisbane-based GP who will support you with a lower-carbohydrate way of life with less need for drugs?

Well a great new centre has opened in Paddington, Brisbane and myself and a physiologist are speaking at the opening of the centre and you are more than welcome to come along on the 29th November.

And if you are in the Toowoomba area on the evening of 15th November, I will speaking with an endocrinologist about what to eat and do, to stay healthy. The RSVP is DDHHS_Events@health.qld.gov.au

I am a regular on ABC Radio Brisbaneif you would like to have a listen to past episodes or you can watch some short videosthat may explain in a simple way, complex ideas.  

If you would like to book an individualised appointment, simply do that on-line.

Or visit mywebsite Twitter or Facebook should you want to know a bit more about me. Instagram has a few more recipes as well.