Starchy Carbohydrates

 

Starchy foods and carbohydrates

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Starchy foods are our main source of carbohydrates and have an important role in a healthy diet.

Starchy foods – such as potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and cereals – should make up just over a third of the food you eat.

Where you can, choose wholegrain varieties, and eat potatoes with their skin on for more fiber.

We should eat some starchy foods every day as part of a healthy, balanced diet. 

Why do you need starchy foods?

Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. As well as starch, they contain fiber, calcium, iron, and B vitamins.

Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram they contain fewer than half the calories of fat.

Just watch out for the added fats you use when you cook and serve them because this will increase the calorie content.

Starchy foods and fiber

Wholegrain varieties of starchy foods and potatoes (particularly when eaten with their skin on) are good sources of fiber.

Fiber is the name given to a range of substances found in the cell walls of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and cereal grains. 

Fiber that cannot be digested helps other food and waste products to move through the gut.

Potato skins, wholegrain bread and breakfast cereals, brown rice, and wholewheat pasta are all good sources of this kind of fiber.

Some types of fiber found in fruits and vegetables – such as apples, carrots, potatoes – and in oats and pulses can be partly digested and may help reduce the amount of cholesterol in your blood.

Tips for eating more starchy foods

These tips can help you increase the number of starchy foods in your diet.

Breakfast

• Choose wholegrain cereals, or mix some in with your favorite healthy breakfast cereals.
• Plain porridge with fruit makes a warming winter breakfast.
• Whole oats with fruit and low-fat, lower-sugar yogurt make a tasty summer breakfast.

Lunch and dinner

• Try a baked potato for lunch – eat the skin for even more fiber.
• Instead of having chips or frying potatoes, try making oven-baked potato wedges.
• Have more rice or pasta and less sauce – but do not skip the vegetables.
• Try bread such as seeded, wholemeal, or granary. When you choose wholegrain varieties, you'll also increase the amount of fiber you're eating.
• Try brown rice – it makes a very tasty rice salad.

Types of starchy foods

Potatoes

Potatoes are a great choice of starchy food and a good source of energy, fiber, B vitamins, and potassium. 

In the UK, we also get a lot of our vitamin C from potatoes. Although potatoes only contain a small amount of vitamin C, we generally eat a lot of them. They're good value for money and can be a healthy choice.

Although potatoes are a vegetable, in the UK we mostly eat them as the starchy food part of a meal, and they're a good source of carbohydrates in our diet.

Because of this, potatoes do not count towards your five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but they can have an important role in your diet. 

Potatoes are a healthy choice when boiled, baked, mashed, or roasted with only a small amount of fat or oil and no added salt. 

French fries and other chips cooked in oil or served with salt are not a healthy choice.

When cooking or serving potatoes, go for lower-fat or polyunsaturated spreads, or small amounts of unsaturated oils, such as olive or sunflower oil.

For mashed potatoes, use lower-fat milk, such as semi-skimmed, 1% fat, or skimmed milk, instead of whole milk or cream.

Bread

Bread, especially wholemeal, granary, brown, and seeded varieties, is a healthy choice to eat as part of a balanced diet.

Wholegrain, wholemeal and brown bread give us energy and contain B vitamins, vitamin E, fiber, and a wide range of minerals.

White bread also contains a range of vitamins and minerals, but it has less fiber than wholegrain, wholemeal, or brown bread. If you prefer white bread, look for higher-fiber options.

Some people avoid bread because they're concerned about having a food intolerance or allergy to wheat, or they think bread is fattening.

Cereal products

Cereal products are made from grains. Wholegrain cereals can contribute to our daily intake of iron, fiber, B vitamins, and protein. Higher-fiber options can also provide a slow release of energy.

Wheat, oats, barley, rye, and rice are commonly available cereals that can be eaten as whole grains.

This means cereal products consisting of oats or oatmeal, such as porridge, and wholewheat products are healthy breakfast options.

Barley, couscous, corn, and tapioca also count as healthy cereal products. 

Many cereal products in the UK are refined, with low wholegrain content. They can also be high in added salt and sugar.

When you're shopping for cereals, check the food labels to compare different products.

Rice and grains

Rice and grains are an excellent choice of starchy food. They give us energy, are low in fat and are good value for money.

There are many types to choose from, including:

• all kinds of rice – such as quick-cook, arborio, basmati, long-grain, brown, short-grain, and wild
• couscous
• bulgur wheat

As well as carbohydrates, rice and grains (particularly brown and wholegrain varieties) can contain:

• fiber, which can help your body get rid of waste products
• B vitamins, help release energy from the food you eat and help your body work properly

Rice and grains, such as couscous and bulgur wheat, can be eaten hot or cold, and in salads.

There are a few precautions you should take when storing and reheating cooked rice and grains. This is because the spores of some food poisoning bugs can survive cooking.

If cooked rice or grains are left standing at room temperature, the spores can germinate. The bacteria multiply and produce toxins that make you sick (vomit) and have diarrhea. Reheating food will not get rid of these toxins.

It's, therefore, best to serve rice and grains as soon as they have been cooked. If this is not possible, cool them within 1 hour of cooking and keep them refrigerated until you reheat them or use them in a recipe such as a salad.

It's important to throw away any rice and grains that have been left at room temperature overnight.

If you are not going to eat cooked rice immediately, refrigerate it within 1 hour and eat it within 24 hours.

Pasta in your diet

Pasta is another healthy option to base your meal on. It consists of dough made from durum wheat and water and contains iron and B vitamins.

Wholewheat or wholegrain are healthier than ordinary pasta, as they contain more fiber. We digest wholegrain foods slower than refined grains, so they can help us feel full for longer.

Dried pasta can be stored in a cupboard and typically has a long shelf life, while fresh pasta will need to be refrigerated and has a shorter lifespan.

Check the food packaging for "best before" or "use by" dates and further storage instructions.

Acrylamide in starchy food

Acrylamide is a chemical that's created when many foods, particularly starchy foods like potatoes and bread, are cooked for long periods at high temperatures, such as when baking, frying, grilling, toasting, and roasting.

There's evidence to show acrylamide can cause cancer.

The Food Standards Agency has these tips to reduce your risk of acrylamide at home:

• Go for gold: aim for a golden yellow color, or lighter, when baking, toasting, roasting, or frying starchy foods like potatoes, root vegetables, and bread.
• Check the pack: follow the cooking instructions carefully when frying or oven-heating packaged food products such as chips, roast potatoes, and parsnips. These instructions are to help you cook the product correctly, so you do not cook starchy foods for too long or at temperatures that are too high.