Highest Carbohydrate Vegetables: What Are They?

as calorie-free foods to add to your daily diet. While many vegetables are very low in calories per serving, some vegetables are high in carbohydrates and provide energy in the form of starch, particularly potatoes, corn, peas, and squash. Depending on their composition, carbohydrates are divided into simple, double or multiple sugars. Single and double sugars are those found mainly in sweets, for example chocolate and honey. Polysaccharides, on the other hand, are found mainly in whole foods. Therefore, regarding complex carbohydrates, such as those found in legumes or whole grains that have a low glycemic index, for example, the blood sugar level rises more slowly because the insulin produced is lower, which allows you to avoid the risk of glycemic spikes, and of combating diabetes and metabolic diseases.

41 g   Beans 36 g   Chickpeas 44 g   Peas 12 g   Carrots 5 g   Pumpkin 5 g   Beet 9 g   Sweet corn 16 g   Eggplant 3 g   Broccoli 3 g   Chicory 2 g   Green beans 5 g   Cucumber 2 g   Cabbage 4 g   Lettuce 1 g   Green peppers 3 g   Brussels sprouts 4 g   Rocket 2 g   Asparagus 2 g   Spinach 1 g   Tomatoes 3 g   White cabbage 4 g   Cabbage 2 g   Zucchini 2 g   . Even if only by consulting a dietician will it be possible to establish which foods are most suitable for each individual person according to different biological factors and diseases present, the fact that some vegetables are rich in carbohydrates is not a valid reason to eliminate them from your diet. Even if you are following a low-carb diet, the complex carbohydrates in starchy vegetables are great for fueling the body and providing the essential nutrients you need for different functions.

All vegetables have a percentage of carbohydrates, but some vegetables are more rich in it. These are what are classified as starchy vegetables, namely potatoes, corn, peas and squash. While some people try to avoid carbohydrates to control blood sugar or weight, nutrition specialists point out that the fiber content of many vegetables slows digestion and prevents blood sugar spikes. Fiber will also help prolong the feeling of satiety until the next meal.

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How to orient yourself in choosing low carbs vegetables? The well-known green leafy vegetables, such as salad, beets, spinach or chicory, but also radishes, courgette flowers or radicchio, are low in carbohydrates (and often abound in a ketogenic diet), while peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, onion and leeks are quite rich in it.

and less than 2 grams are sugar. Although potatoes are not considered a vegetable, they are still a food that offers many nutritional benefits. A medium baked potato has 20% of the daily potassium requirement, 10% of the daily iron requirement, 12% of the daily needed magnesium and 16% of the daily needed vitamin C. Sweet corn, often added to salads or vegetable side dishes, is one of the high-carbohydrate vegetables. 100 grams of cooked sweet corn (usually sold in tins), contains 143 calories. Those calories come mostly from the 31.3 grams of carbohydrate in corn, of which 3.6 grams is fiber and 6.8 grams is sugar. Corn provides about 4% of the daily requirement of iron, 7% of potassium, 9% of magnesium, 8% of zinc and 9% of the daily requirement of vitamin C.

Another high-carbohydrate vegetable are peas. They are part of the legume family, and like their "relatives" lentils and chickpeas, they have a high content of "good" carbohydrates. 100 grams of peas have 117 calories, with 21 grams of carbohydrates. Of these carbohydrates, 8.3 grams are fiber and 8.2 grams are sugar. They are rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin K. Finally, the Butternut Pumpkin, with 82 calories per 100 gr and with 21.5 grams of carbohydrates, of which 6.6 grams are fiber and 4 grams are sugar. Pumpkin offers a wide range of nutrients, including 6% of the calcium needed daily, but also good doses of iron, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E.

The importance of the glycemic load

In general, not only with vegetables, in addition to the glycemic index it is also good to calculate the glycemic load. The glycemic index, in fact, is not a sufficient number. The glycemic load (CG) evaluates both the quality and quantity of carbohydrates present in a given food.

How to calculate the Glycemic Load: multiply the Glycemic Index of the food by the portion, and divide the value obtained by 100.